Principal David Pomfret and Mark Pendlington, Chairman of New Anglia LEP at the site of the new university centre.
Construction work has begun on a new university centre at our King’s Lynn Campus, which will benefit up to 500 additional students across West Norfolk and Fenland. As a result of a bid by the West Norfolk Partnership, supported by CWA and our joint venture higher education partner Anglia Ruskin University, New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership secured £6.5 million funding for the construction of the new University Centre West Anglia building as part of its Growth Deal with the Government. At 2,000m², the new University Centre West Anglia building will house full and part-time higher level education and training and will include 14 digital classrooms, a 120-seat multimedia lecture theatre, offices and social space. The Lindum Group secured the contract for the construction and the centre is due to be open for students in September 2016.
Principal David Pomfret is presented with a commemorative shovel from Lindum Group.
West Norfolk and Fenland are seen as ‘cold-spots’ for higher education (HE) participation against the national average, as measured by the Higher Education Funding Council. The university centre aims to address the skills and employment gaps in Fenland and West Norfolk, a current hot topic among local employers, creating a high quality teaching and learning facility not currently available within a 40 mile radius of King’s Lynn. It will deliver higher education programmes across a range of areas including business, management, scientific, technical and engineering skills. The preliminary data from the National Student Survey shows HE courses at CWA to have an overall satisfaction score of 86%, which is the sector average for the 160 mainstream universities in the UK - just four points behind Cambridge and five points behind Oxford.
Principal and Chief Executive David Pomfret said: “I would again like to thank the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership for recognising and supporting the need for this facility in the West Norfolk area. It is fantastic that we will now be able to offer a broader range of higher level courses at the College of West Anglia; I am confident that, with the support of our joint venture partners Anglia Ruskin University, this will enable us to provide a high quality teaching and learning facility for those wishing to progress into higher education in the local area. I look forward to seeing the progression of the new building over the coming months.”
Mark Pendlington, Chairman of New Anglia LEP said: “A skilled dynamic workforce is crucial if we are to compete on a UK and global stage and become the economic powerhouse we know we can be. This new centre means hundreds of youngsters across the region will be trained in vital subjects such as science, technology and engineering – skills we know businesses in Norfolk and Suffolk are crying out for. Together with King’s Lynn’s new Innovation Centre, West Norfolk is fast becoming a go-to business destination that will inspire future students and budding entrepreneurs for years to come.”