The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities discussed plans for a new campus for City of Wolverhampton College during a visit to the city last week.
Michael Gove, whose department has its second headquarters in the city, was given a tour of the site of the proposed new City Learning Quarter – which will include the new college campus – due to be built around the Old Hall Street and St George’s Parade area.
Mr Gove heard from college managers how the new campus will provide first class learning facilities in key areas of employment, enabling people from Wolverhampton and beyond to gain the skills and knowledge to meet the needs of local businesses.
Malcolm Cowgill, principal and chief executive of the college, said: “We were delighted to welcome Mr Gove to the city and have the opportunity to talk to him about the new campus and the opportunities it will provide for hundreds of local people who will benefit from first-class teaching and learning facilities.”
Councillor Ian Brookfield, City of Wolverhampton Council Leader, added: “By welcoming the Secretary of State to Wolverhampton we were able to showcase some of the key regeneration plans for the city that are being built on the back of £4.4billion investment on site or in the pipeline and strong partnership working with the public and private sector.
“The visit enabled us to highlight other ambitious and bold initiatives requiring further support from partners. This included the expansion of our Commercial District, where the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities’ second headquarters is located inside our i9 complex – and the City Learning Quarter, which is vital to raising the bar for skills and education in our city.”
As well as the college campus, the City Learning Quarter will also encompass the council’s Adult Education Service and Central Library.
The college forecasts that over a 10-year period approximately 45,000 people will benefit from learning at the City Learning Quarter and around 7,500 apprenticeships will be started.
