The construction of South Staffordshire College’s new Tamworth College campus reached completion at the end of August, with the college welcoming students for the start of the new academic year in September.
The new college replaces the former TORC and Tamworth College facilities with new, purpose-built teaching and learning accommodation on a former 1970s department store site in Tamworth town centre.
The scheme is important to the future development of the college, as well as being a key component of Tamworth Borough Council’s Future High Streets Fund (FHSF) Programme, which is set to deliver transformational change to the market town of Tamworth, by bring new life to the town centre.
The relocation of Tamworth College - part of South Staffordshire College - to a new building on the former site of the Tamworth Co-operative Society department store, is an integral element of the College Quarter project, which will see the transformation of St. Editha’s Square onto which the college overlooks.
The college building is a four-storey building with single storey part-basement, and centres around a full height internal atrium providing natural light as well as a focal point for meeting. The new college provides a high-quality teaching and learning environment through a mix of general and specialist spaces to produce a high-quality learning environment.
Teaching facilities include an automotive workshop with accommodation for up to three vehicles (including electric); brickwork, electrical and carpentry workshops supporting the building trade apprenticeships; a catering training kitchen; cafeteria; training hair salon; hair and beauty classrooms; library facilities; healthcare training room; and 16 general teaching classrooms.
Richard Riley, Associate Director at McBains commented: “It’s been a privilege to play a part in delivering such a transformative project for South Staffordshire College and the town of Tamworth. The new campus not only provides state-of-the-art facilities for students but also plays a key role in regenerating the town centre as part of the Future High Streets Fund programme. This has been a highly collaborative effort between the College, Tamworth Borough Council, and the wider project team, and we’re incredibly proud to see students now benefiting from this modern and inspiring environment”.
Lee Wingate, Director of Civil and Structural Engineering at McBains commented: “A great collaborative effort between the client, the design team and main contractor to deliver the next generation of teaching facilities to Tamworth. One that will revitalise the town centre and provide young people in and around the area with a class-leading facility in which to learn their craft!”
McBains inter-disciplinary teams were involved in the development of the design from the end of RIBA Stage 2 to 3 for services including civil and structural engineering, mechanical and electrical engineering, cost management, project management and principal designer services, delivering planning and up to tender stage.
Post contract, McBains provided project and cost management alongside client monitoring services for M&E engineering. The civil and structural engineering team were novated across to the main contractor for RIBA 4 to 6 delivery.
