Middlesbrough College plans temporary teaching and workshop spaces

Temporary theory classrooms and workshop buildings are both on the cards, with the classrooms set to occupy current campus green space, while the temporary workshops will be located on the hard landscape external compound, deemed “integral” to the current T-Construction Training Facility. 

Plans are currently being reviewed by Middlesbrough Development Corporation (MDC), the local planning authority for where the college is located.

The application also seeks permission to install an air source heat pump farm, along with solar canopies which will be placed over existing parking spaces in the Vulcan Street staff car park.

As part of a review, the college is looking to develop certain areas of its “external space portfolio” – the review has followed “success” in growing the campus building footprint as well as student numbers, in response to local and national government policies.

Submitted documents say that while the college will continue to look for funding for “permanent accommodation” where demand continues upward, there are short term space requirements.

Supporting documents explain there will be seven temporary theory only classrooms located adjacent to technical training provider TTE’s building, which will use existing green space and hardstanding. Each classroom will have a capacity of 18 students.

Papers say: “The facility will incorporate a row of single classrooms only and is deemed close enough to the new TTE building to take advantage of all amenity services.”

The papers add: “The key driver for this requirement has been the delay in the planned developments at Russell Street not now likely to come online until 2027.

“The college recently procured a building on Russet Street, currently being used as a temporary school occupied by Outwood Academy.

“The procurement was based on the ability to occupy this sooner than 2027 but Outwood have been delayed in their plans to occupy the new school development planned for Middlehaven.”

As for the temporary workshop buildings, documents said: “Following the completion of the Construction Centre in April 2023, there was significant growth in the applications for ‘Wet Trades’ based courses driven by local and national initiatives to continue to respond to skills shortages and more recently, the focus on providing opportunities to train growing cohorts of NEET categorised young people.”

It is explained that the college needed to “quickly” provide extra covered space to additional pupils and so two “portable buildings” have been erected on new hardstandings.

“The same drivers are now underpinning a further requirement to recoup more external space with covered facilities as pressure on responding to skill shortages grows”, papers add. 

The aim is to provide the College Construction Faculty with more covered space to allow some protection when the weather isn’t ideal.

The space will be unheated but will provide cover from the wind and rain. Documents add: “Generally, the facilities will incorporate several single open shed spaces and are deemed close enough to the new Construction building to take advantage of all amenity services.”