A councillor is calling on Bradford College bosses to meet residents to discuss the proposed closure of Ilkley’s Bridge House further education centre.

Councillor Matt Palmer (Con, Wharfedale) said he was “astonished, disappointed and angry” to read of the closure in the Telegraph & Argus, after earlier promises about adult education provision in the Wharfe Valley.

He said: “It’s hard to express in words how let-down I and many staff and students feel at this surprise announcement.

“I cannot understand why the college has given constant public assurances that Bridge House would remain open, even as they were preparing for closure. We have now lost all guarantee of sustainable adult education provision in our community.”

In a letter to the college’s principal and governing body, Coun Palmer offered to host a meeting with community representatives in Wharfedale to discuss the future of adult education provision in the Wharfe Valley.

The college sent letters to students of the Bolton Bridge Road centre last week, and held sessions about the move with students and staff at Bridge House.

The college’s lease on the site expires this summer, and it said it could not renew it for financial reasons. The landlord had no alternative but to increase the cost of the lease, the college said in a factsheet for students.

Jobs could be at risk as courses come to an end at the centre this summer. Although the college said it was seeking alternative premises in the area, and hoped to provide similar courses, it was unable to confirm these until premises were secured.

In his letter, Coun Palmer, who previously campaigned against the closure of Bradford College’s Burley Grange centre, said: “I believe it is of critical importance that we continue to have good adult education provision in Wharfedale.”

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