Exciting plans to build a £2.2m extension to Stamford College’s Borderville Sports Centre is now underway once again despite initially being delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The refurbishment is approved and jointly funded by both Stamford College and Greater Lincolnshire Enterprise Partnership, and will extend and upgrade the centre’s already impressive facilities, providing six additional classrooms, a specialist sports laboratory and a fitness studio.
Janet Meenaghan, Principal at Stamford College, reflected on the new plans: “Stamford College are really pleased to see these plans coming to life. We’re very eager to see the project boost Stamford’s educational and fitness offer further and look forward to watching our students enjoy the new facilities.”
The project team, including the GLLEP and Stamford College, have been delighted to receive strong support from the Stamford College Board with regard to ring-fencing 50% of the required investment from college reserves.
Clare Hughes, Skills Manager at the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership, said,
"The Greater Lincolnshire LEP is delighted to be supporting this exciting development with £1.12m of grant funding.
"The scheme will not only deliver 21 new training courses for local students to help them prepare for work, and an apprenticeship programme focused on sports, public services health and social care, it will also provide much needed dedicated training space for our defence sector."
The project addresses Greater Lincolnshire’s Local Industrial Strategy, supporting economic growth and increased productivity through high quality technical education for our local communities. This enables New College Stamford to meet student growth, help address local skills gaps and meet employer needs in key sector priorities with higher level, digitally enhanced training, including the Air and Defence College initiative which Stamford College delivers in partnership with RAF Lincolnshire.
The site received a visit from Grantham and Stamford MP, Gareth Davies, last Friday. Gareth Davies MP has supported the project since its initial stages and is excited to see the investment progress and deliver on key targets and ambitions for the area.
The visit and ongoing support from Gareth Davies MP shows the considerable benefit to the community that this project will have. After his site visit last week, Gareth Davies MP commented:
“The Borderville project offers an exciting new investment to Stamford and I am pleased to see the progress that has been made on site. It will no doubt offer an excellent return to the people of Stamford, providing outstanding educational facilities to students and enhanced health and fitness benefits to the community. I am excited to watch the project take shape and fulfil its potential here in Stamford.”
Minister for Regional Growth and Local Government Simon Clarke MP also added:
“We want to get building to help fuel our economic recovery, improve our infrastructure and create the jobs we need to get communities back on their feet.
“That is why I am delighted to see work is now underway at Stamford College’s Borderville Sports Centre.
The build is being expertly managed and completed by local contractors at Lindum Group, who won the contract through a competitive tender conducted in 2019. Lindum are making excellent progress despite the exceptionally challenging circumstances that prevail, and are well on track to open the doors to students in January 2021.
General Manager of Lindum Peterborough Darren King said work on the project was going very well.
“As a construction company we are acutely aware of the skills shortage in the local economy. We are also a home-grown Lincolnshire business and we have offices in Peterborough, less than 20 miles from the site. For these reasons it’s fantastic to be involved with a project that will leave a legacy beyond the completion of the building.
“We have previously worked closely with Peterborough College and we have developed a good relationship with New College Stamford during the short time we’ve been here. We hope that successful completion of this building will lead to further partnerships in future.”
Borderville Sports Centre is a shared enterprise between Stamford College and Stamford Football Club, and also enjoys great relationships with many local sporting clubs and teams such as Stamford Athletic Football Club, (represented by its Chairman, David Whitby) who have been fully behind the project from day one and are also keen to secure further health and fitness benefits for the local community.
Since its opening in September 2014 Borderville Sports Centre has been a hub of the community, and as the expansion project focuses upon skills development across several sectors, alongside the support of local businesses, the College will be able to continue involving employers in the development of its curriculum, supporting business innovation through new business models and use of emerging technologies, as well as developing new flexible and distance learning options.
Already, the College anticipates this will allow for the delivery of an additional ten qualifications at the centre by 2021/22, including six university level qualifications and Higher Apprenticeships, particularly in Health and Social Care.
