Town centre campus reaches top milestone
Tue, 18 July 2017
Tameside College has marked an important milestone in the development of its new town centre campus at a topping out ceremony last month. The new campus is due to open for students in September 2018.
Tameside College principal Jackie Moores said: “This is a very exciting time for Tameside College. The new campus will accommodate our service courses such as hospitality, travel and tourism, bakery, hair and beauty.
“By having a high-street location in the town centre our students will benefit from direct contact with the public. It will also house some of our advanced vocational academic courses such as childcare and health and social care.
“The new building follows the recent opening of the advanced technologies centre and Clarendon Sixth Form College, providing some of the best education facilities in the North West.”
The joint public service centre, which is being built on the site of the old TAC complex on Wellington Road, Ashton, was topped-out on June 21 with the final piece of steel being fixed into place.
The ceremony was attended by Cllr Kieran Quinn, the executive leader of Tameside Council alongside Jackie Moores, principal of Tameside College.
Cllr Quinn said: “The topping-out ceremony marks a major landmark in the Vision Tameside project which is now approaching the end of its second phase.
“The joint public services centre will provide a much more customer-friendly environment that provides better services for residents. By incorporating the latest energy saving innovations it will allow us to make dramatic cost savings.
“Of course Tameside Council will only occupy part of the centre. We will be sharing it with our partners from Tameside College. The advanced skills centre will be a fine addition to Clarendon College and the Beaufort Road advanced technologies centre which have already opened’.
Demolition of the worn-out Tameside Administrative complex began in 2015 and construction of its replacement, the joint public services centre, started last autumn. The new building should be in use by the end of next year.
Vision Tameside, which was launched three years ago, is an ambitious development strategy partnership between Tameside Council and Tameside College to transform learning and skills in the borough with the aim of generating greater economic prosperity.
Phase three of Vision Tameside will see Tameside College redevelop its Beaufort Road, Ashton, campus to ensure it offers learners outstanding facilities in subjects such as engineering, construction and the built environment, motor-vehicle maintenance, sport and public services, and health and social care provision.