A new teaching building has been handed over at Bournemouth and Poole College’s Lansdowne campus.
The Compass Building has been transferred to the college by construction partner Kier, marking the end of a two-year build phase and the start of preparations for students arriving this autumn.
The project has been managed by the Department for Education in collaboration with Kier, with support from the government’s Further Education Capital Transformation Fund.
Outdated blocks have been replaced with a new 4-storey teaching facility, while the 1910s Clock Tower Building in Bournemouth’s Lansdowne area has also been carefully refurbished.
The 8,500sqm building is due to welcome thousands of students at the start of the next academic year, providing teaching space for courses including media, computing, sport, travel, hair, beauty and hospitality.
The campus will also include the public-facing, student-run Escoffier restaurant and new Horizon salons, giving learners real-world training spaces and providing new amenities for the local community.
Ann-Marie Heerey, Director of Estates at Bournemouth and Poole College, said receiving the keys was “a huge moment” for the college.
She said the focus now moves to “equipping the spaces” and helping staff become familiar with the new surroundings before students arrive.
Steve Topliss, Operations Director at Kier Construction Southern, said the handover marked “a significant milestone” for the college.
Further work will continue over the summer, including final landscaping and finishing touches to the restoration of the historic Clock Tower Building, ahead of the new intake in September.
Top photo: Andy Hamer (Department for Education Project Manager) and the Kier Construction site management team (including David Williams, Project Manager) handing over to Anne-Marie Heerey (Director of Estates) and the College Estates team.
