Harrogate College has now received planning approval to demolish the existing building and build a new college on land adjacent to it.
It was initially granted planning permission by North Yorkshire Council, without going to planning committee for review.
A Judicial Review was lodged by Hornbeam Park Developments, and it subsequently went to a Planning Committee, where it was unanimously approved.
Harrogate College, part of the Luminate Education Group, secured £16 million from the Department for Education’s Further Education Capital Transformation Fund.
The College say educational improvements and student growth are key reasons behind the rebuild, Danny Wild, Principal of Harrogate College, said:
At present, Harrogate College’s current building is unable to grow student numbers because our current facilities mean that we are unable to align the curriculum as strongly as we would like to areas of growth within the local economy.
Current teaching spaces are mostly long and narrow, which is a poor starting point for classrooms, laboratories or workshops. Harrogate College would not be in a better position to meet student demand within the current building, which is an old office block that was never intended to be used for educational purposes.
Although larger in size, there is significant unusable teaching space within the current building, which the college is now outgrowing. A smaller, but purpose built, building will better enable us to meet student demand, support regional skills priorities, and grow overall student numbers in a higher quality setting.
The college say they will build on existing training for local key sectors and T Levels offering while also allowing the introduction of new courses in areas like sustainability and modern construction techniques. Those looking at a College with GCSE A’ Level provision will still need to look towards York College or Notre Dame Catholic Sixth Form College.
Hornbeam Park Developments through the group RE:VISION have argued that this was not the right solution for Harrogate or the business park, on the following grounds:
- Displacement of all on-site parking for 20-months, and have not mitigated the impact of that
Longer-term parking spaces to drop from 242 to 88 – that will create issues for rail users, local people and the business park. - That the building is fit for purpose.
- There were alternative options available
David Waddington, spokesperson for the RE:VISION – Harrogate College campaign, talking at the time of the planning approval, said:
We are deeply disappointed that the proposed £20 million redevelopment of Harrogate College has today been approved by North Yorkshire Council’s planning committee.These p
lans, in their current form, are nothing short of a lesson in poor decision-making which will unleash years of traffic and parking chaos onto nearby residents and effectively flush millions in public funds down the drain.
This also represents a major failure for students by delivering a smaller facility which is not fit for the future and goes against the college’s growth ambitions.
We were never against investment in the college – far from it. In fact, our alternative solution, which involved the use of neighbouring land controlled by the Department for Education, would have paved the way for Harrogate to become an educational powerhouse for the region…but the approval of these plans throws that golden opportunity out of the window.
Hornbeam Park Developments, which leads the RE:VISION campaign, had even pledged to help the college build meaningful partnerships with local and global businesses to enrich its curriculum and create valuable student opportunities.
But to do that, we needed to see a truly ambitious vision from the college, not the flawed proposal that’s now been given the green light and will be funded with £16 million in public money.
Our community survey found zero support for these plans from local residents, as well as an overwhelming desire for a smarter path forward. Now those same residents, as well as students, staff and the wider community, will pay the price for the decision made today.
Harrogate College’s Principal, Danny Wild, said:
It is immensely pleasing to have now secured planning permission to pursue this forward-looking, innovative and value for money investment into Harrogate’s educational infrastructure. We are now awaiting written confirmation from the local authority to proceed with Harrogate College’s rebuild.
The new campus will enable increased breadth and quality within the curriculum on offer at the college, allowing us to better support local and regional skills needs. As the only general further education college in the area, I’m excited to see the benefits these new facilities will bring local young people, adults and the economy.
Construction is due to begin on the rebuild in the coming months, with the new buildings set to open in the 2026 academic year.
