New Campus Glasgow

New Campus Glasgow established

The Principals and Chairs of Central College, Stow College, Glasgow Metropolitan College and Glasgow College of Nautical Studies have signed a unique memorandum agreement to establish New Campus Glasgow, a specialist company that will now advance the procurement of a £300 million supercampus in the heart of Glasgow city centre.

In a joint statement the four Principals have said: "We are committed to making the city centre super campus a reality. This will be the largest and most ambitious College development project to have ever taken place in the UK and will be one of the largest in Europe. It will offer world class learning and teaching in world class cutting-edge facilities. Working in partnership over the next few years we will achieve our shared goal of providing the very best learning opportunities possible for the citizens and the businesses of Glasgow. We are confident that we now have the expertise, energy and dedication needed to make this fantastic development happen for the people of Glasgow on time and on budget."

Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning said: "Scotland's colleges are one of the key driving forces of our economy and are central to the Scottish Government's efforts to create a smarter, wealthier and fairer nation. The collaboration taking place between these four colleges, which will create a world-class education facility in the heart of Glasgow and offer students an excellent learning environment, is an important step forward."

The Memorandum commits the four colleges to a joint roadmap which was drafted by them and supported by the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council, who are part funding the development, to guide the development of the city centre campus as it gets underway. The planned campus, with state-of-the-art shared facilities will provide a superb 21st century learning environment for 2,000 staff and over 50,000 students, on the two sites on Cathedral Street and Thistle Street.

Councillor Steven Purcell, Leader of Glasgow City Council, said: "The joint economic strategy for Glasgow identifies the crucial role which education and training is increasingly playing in the regeneration of the city. It is vital that the further and higher educational facilities in the city are to the appropriate standards necessary to meet the demands of the local business base and of course students themselves. The development of the four-college campus will ensure that Glasgow can continue to provide the right facilities to give students the skills which business needs."

Programme Director Iain Marley commented: "The newly formed Board of New Campus Glasgow is determined to realise this project for the people of Glasgow, and the new memorandum signed by each of the four Colleges demonstrates their commitment and determination to make this dream a reality. The project represents a huge challenge for us all - the concept is visionary and a first for education in this country."

Although it has been under discussion for over two years, today's announcement marks a significant step forward for the project. New Campus Glasgow will replace the Estates Development Steering Group, the body formerly charged with overseeing the development. The signing of the memorandum demonstrates the Colleges' renewed commitment and energy behind the development, supporting not just a joint vision but also the practical areas of consideration such as curriculum development, the building project itself and staff consultation.

The roadmap proposes an ambitious timetable for the project, with a commitment to submitting a full business case to the Scottish Funding Council by December 2008. It is anticipated that the project could take up to 6 years to complete but that substantial elements of the estate will be occupied well in advance of the end-date.