£9.3 million for Harlow’s new university
campus
A funding package worth £9.3 million has been
agreed today for a new university campus in Harlow which will help
raise skills levels and increase economic opportunities for local
people and businesses.
The East of England Development Agency (EEDA),
Harlow-Stansted Growth Area Partnership led by Harlow Council and
the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) are
contributing a total of £9.3 million for Anglia Ruskin University’s
new three-storey, 2400 square metre higher education centre on a
site leased from Harlow College.
Building for the new campus will start next
summer and it will contain state-of-the-art teaching and learning
facilities for higher education in Harlow. The centre also
provide facilities for use by local businesses and the community
with an iLab - an IT facility to encourage and inspire
creative thought - and various conference and meeting rooms.
The new university centre will eventually
offer a wide range of higher education provision to meet the needs
of local students but, in the first instance, will focus on
expanding the courses offered by the Centre of Journalism and
programmes in business, IT, health and education.
Councillor Andrew Johnson, Harlow Council
Leader, said:
“This is excellent news for Harlow. The
development of a university campus in our town, which we have long
called for, is a huge boost for providing opportunities for local
people. First-class higher education facilities are a must in
developing Harlow as a place to live, work or visit. We want people
to learn here and then live and work here making a difference to
the community. This campus is an important strand of the work to
improve Harlow’s attractiveness to potential new or relocating
businesses who will have a significant skills pool on their
doorstep."
Alison Webster, executive director of
enterprise and skills at EEDA said:
“This investment recognises Harlow’s potential
for major economic development growth and its already thriving
research and development base. The project could not have happened
without EEDA and our local and regional partners working together
to benefit the local economy.
“We know from the success of our investments
in campuses in Southend, Ipswich and Peterborough that these types
of developments provide a focus for innovation and aspiration which
translate into a direct rise in skills levels and real improvements
in the local economy.
“Harlow traditionally has a very low rate of
participation in higher education. This can affect the town’s
ability to attract high value businesses and for local people to
secure high-earning jobs in the industries of the future such as
ICT, pharmaceuticals and high-tech engineering. The new campus
will attract new businesses to the region and offer even greater
support to existing ones.”
Bill Rammell, MP for Harlow said:
“That EEDA have confirmed the funding for the
new Anglia Ruskin University campus in Harlow is excellent news and
I am delighted that this project should go ahead as planned.
“As Minister for Higher Education, I saw on a
day-to-day basis the effect new higher education initiatives could
have on areas such as Harlow where HE participation is below the
national average.
“Establishing a university presence in Harlow
is more than just about creating a building. Anglia Ruskin having a
physical presence on Harlow College’s site, and students having the
opportunity to continue their study here in the town, will be a key
driver in developing skills relevant to the local economy and
raising aspirations.”
Professor Michael Thorne, Vice Chancellor of
Anglia Ruskin University:
“We are absolutely delighted that our
long-standing partnership with Harlow College can now move on to a
completely different scale, giving people in Harlow significant
local access to university courses. It is tremendous that with all
the financial pressures upon them, EEDA has maintained their
commitment to this project as have the Higher Education Funding
Council for England and the Growth Partnership led by Harlow
Council.”
A contractor is expected to be appointed in
January and building is due to start next summer with students
starting courses in summer 2011.
The funding package for
the new campus consists of HEFCE’s £5 million, £500,000 of Growth
Area funding, with EEDA contributing £3.8 million.