Luminate Education Group secures £51 million to transform its buildings

Luminate Education Group has received £51m funding from the government to replace and upgrade its further education (FE) buildings.

Group members Leeds City College, Harrogate College and Leeds Sixth Form College are among 62 education institutions across the country that will be given a cash boost from the latest round of the £1.5bn Further Education Capital Transformation Fund (FECTF).

The government says the investment will ensure that colleges are “great places to learn and students have access to modern, fit-for-purpose facilities”.

Leeds City College, the largest member of Luminate Education Group, will begin new campus building  works on its Mabgate site that will facilitate the development of new higher level technical and apprenticeship courses. In addition to this new facility which replaces the College House building, a purpose built Adult education building will be built at the same time, replacing the existing Enfield Centre.

Over the last decade, Leeds City College has rapidly grown and invested in new and existing campuses to provide students with ‘inspiring education facilities’. As demand for student places continues to grow, the college’s expansion programme for Mabgate is set to deliver much-needed community facilities and will add to the group’s portfolio of city centre bases.

It will also create space for University Centre Leeds and Leeds Conservatoire – bringing together the group’s further and higher education provisions.

Bill Jones, Deputy CEO at Luminate Education Group, said: “Our ambition for Mabgate is to deliver a campus which will enrich the learning experience of our students and be widely used by members of the local community.

“Students are at the heart of everything we do, and the number of learners is set to grow by 13% by 2030. We want to make a positive difference to the lives of existing and potential students by delivering quality learning experiences that support them to get the training they need to progress into rewarding jobs.”

There are also plans to begin significant refurbishment work at the college’s Park Lane Campus and the creation of a new campus for Harrogate College. The latter will include the construction of a new industrial workshop as well as the installation of green electric based heating systems, in line with the college’s green agenda.