Bedford Council is benefiting from £22.6m from the Governments £3.6 billion Town Fund which is aimed at supporting areas like Bedford Borough to “level up”.
The £22.6m will fund six major local projects with the first being works on Bedford College’s Cauldwell Street campus. The Government funding is being used to help upgrade and remodel Bedford College’s 1959 Tower block into a state-of-the-art science and technology facility. The new block will feature an advance set of laboratories & IT suites which will be used to enhance the scientific and digital skills provision at the College.
Bedford College Group has already developed a strong science and digital offer at its campus in Kettering, and with the additional Government funding, we now have the opportunity to bring this to Bedford. The investment will support the College’s curriculum in its extension to higher education and advanced levels, so that existing students can progress further and achieve higher levels of skill in areas where employers say there is a need.
The works, scheduled to be completed by summer 2023, are part of a £12.6m project to deliver a Health, Science and Digital Skills Centre at Bedford College. The Bedford Town Deal programme included £3m of funding to make these plans possible.
The project will generate an additional 250 full-time education students each year, while also benefiting the existing 4,000 learners at the Bedford campus who will have a new and superior learning environment fit for 21st century studies.
