Over three years after the Department for Education (DfE) announced that it would deliver construction projects for 16 Further Education colleges, six are still awaiting planning permission.
A recent Freedom of Information (FOI) request found that projects at Brooksby Melton, East Durham, Hopwood Hall (Rochdale), Isle of Wight, Northumberland (Ashington), and Strode had not yet received consent. Furthermore, applications have yet to be filed for three projects (East Durham, Hopwood Hall, and Strode).
Most projects had identified a preferred contractor. Of the allocated projects, BAM Construction has four, Bowmer & Kirkland, Kier, and Tilbury Douglas each have two, and Bouygues, Galliford Try, Wates, and Willmott Dixon each have one. However, just four had properly commenced construction (some may have carried out 'enabling works' such as demolition).
One project at NSCG's Stafford Campus has been completed (pictured below). However, Stafford is understood to be originally a college-managed project taken over by the DfE to act as a 'pathfinder' for their internal project team (planning consent had already been granted in 2019, eighteen months prior to the DfE's announcement).
Historically, FE colleges have self-delivered 100% of their projects. While data is difficult to obtain, colleges other than the 16 have likely managed well over £1 billion of capital expenditure over the past three years. As noted in a previous MabelPost, most colleges have significant management capabilities that have routinely delivered successful capital projects in the past.
The DfE has used its established internal project management capability, originally set up to deliver schools, for the 16 colleges. Mabelspace has previously queried the decision to centralise control of major college projects, increasing the workload of the existing DfE team.
Of course, we should recognise that even the most benign projects are frequently delayed by the challenges of the UK's planning approval process.
While progress has been limited thus far, the real measure of the DfE's success will be the finished projects. At completion, few of us will remember delays; instead, the projects will be judged according to their usefulness to their Colleges. Are the buildings pleasant for studying and working, and do they offer the right combination of facilities?
Construction has now started in North Lindsey, Bournemouth, and Blackburn, with expected completion dates in September 2025, April 2026, and July 2026, respectively.