Sunderland College has appointed BAM Construction to build its new £29 million vocational campus in the heart of Sunderland City Centre.

Work on the new 11,500 square metre campus will begin next month on the land opposite Park Lane bus station and upon completion the new state of the art building will accommodate up to 2,000 students and over 120 staff whose spending power will assist in the regeneration of the city centre.

The well-equipped new building will house vocational courses transferred from its Hylton Campus. These courses will include advanced engineering, manufacturing, construction trades, automotive trades, travel and tourism, catering and hospitality. The building will also incorporate hair, beauty and barbering facilities, a spa, a bakery, a travel agency and a restaurant all of which will be accessible to the public.

“This is a very exciting time for Sunderland College and we are all looking forward to watching the new building take shape.

“The campus will provide industry standard facilities for technical and professional education including our growing Apprenticeship provision. The facilities will equip them with the skills necessary to progress successfully into employment and Higher Education. In addition this flagship site will enable us to attract more students from outside the city as well as those from Sunderland.”

“We’ve been working closely with Sunderland City Council and the HCA on this project and I’d like to thank them for all their support in helping us achieve this milestone.”

Anne Isherwood

Principal at Sunderland College

BAM Construction recently completed Sunderland College’s new £22 million Sports and Visual and Performing Arts buildings which opened in September at the Bede Campus.

Work on the new City Campus will be fully completed in Spring 2016.

Cllr Paul Watson, Leader of Sunderland City Council said: “I’m delighted that work is due to get underway on the new City Campus next month. There is a large amount of work already underway to improve the city centre and this development will really help to invigorate that area. To have a flagship campus on this site is a major boost for the city centre and its economy.”

Funding for the high-tech campus will come from the Skills Funding Agency (SFA), Sunderland City Council and College reserves and land has been secured from HCA who have worked with all the partners to ensure delivery of the new campus.

“The new City Campus building will house state- of-the-art teaching and learning spaces and play a pivotal role in the regeneration of the city centre. We’re therefore delighted to be working with Sunderland College again on this exciting new development.” Andrew Warwick, Construction Director