How Bradford College plans will benefit the city centre

That's the message from the college as it highlights several large capital investment projects to mark Colleges Week 2024. 

Over the last two years, the college has successfully secured nearly £29 million in funding for three projects – a new £3.5m vocational T Level facilities in the existing David Hockney Building; a £6.9m refurbishment of the derelict Garden Mills building on Thornton Road and the construction of a new £17m Future Technologies Centre (FTC), also on Thornton Road.

T Level Facilities

A £3.5m Department for Education investment will create a commercial barbering salon, nail bar, collaborative lecture spaces, TV studio, enhanced media editing and recording studios and outdoor dining facilities. The Grove training restaurant will also be remodelled. 

What are T Levels?

T Level qualifications are an alternative to A Levels and focus on the hands-on skills that employers need.

Garden Mills

The Garden Mills refurbishment is the result of £5.8m funding received from The Office for Students Higher Education Capital Fund - with a £1.1m college contribution. Bradford College was one of only five institutions nationally to receive the maximum allocation.

Contractor Tilbury Douglas has finished the strip-out of the 1900s five-storey building ahead of fit-out and completion by this summer.

Garden Mills will enhance the College’s existing health science, technology, engineering, and mathematics facilities.

It will house two new flexible laboratories, a prep room, six higher education digital IT labs, an ophthalmic dispensing suite, a clinical suite, a real-life work environment with consulting and testing booths, a collaboration area, and academic teaching spaces.

Future Technologies Centre

This project is funded through £15m from the Department for Education’s Further Education Capital Transformation Fund, secured in October 2022 and boosted by a £2m college contribution.

The FTC will be the new home of modern automotive and digital engineering curricula, such as electric/hybrid vehicles, robotics, advanced manufacturing, and digital/3D design.

The college’s Automotive and Digital Engineering Department will relocate from Bowling Back Lane to the brand-new premises once they are complete.

'A transformative investment in Bradford city centre'

Christopher Malish, Bradford College vice principal finance and corporate services, said: “This is a huge boost for the college but is also a transformative investment in Bradford city centre, that also supports the wider city centre development.

“These multi-million-pound investments will create cutting-edge learning environments for the local community, allowing the college to deliver on its mission of transforming lives.

“These new facilities will allow the delivery of curricula designed to address the big societal challenges, enrich our local workforce, showcase a range of inspiring careers, and encourage more businesses to relocate to our environmental and socially responsible region.”