£1.9m grant to improve college campus

The new Technology Centre at the Middleton campus

Hopwood Hall College has received a grant of £1.9m to improve its Middleton Campus.

The College is one of only 46 colleges in the country to receive a large grant from The Skills Funding Agency (SFA) to invest in its buildings and facilities.

The College’s application for an Enhanced Renewal Grant for £1.9m was approved following a rigorous assessment process.

Demand for the grant was very high – with the SFA receiving 129 applications.

Saf Arfan, Director for Corporate Services at the College said: “We are delighted at the news and have ambitious plans to improve the Middleton campus.”

The College has a vision to make its Middleton campus a completely sustainable, ‘eco-campus’ by 2015.

This money will be used to commence the sustainability work and will include measures such as making old buildings thermally efficient with new double glazed windows, insulated roofs and renewed heating equipment.

The College is also exploring further sustainability measures such as introducing renewable technologies, as part its vision to become sustainable.

Another key project which will be completed with this grant is the refurbishment of the listed chapel which resides on the Middleton campus; it will be turned into a new Fitness Suite for the College’s Fitness Academy, whilst retaining all the key features of the much loved building.

The work will commence in the summer with completion due in November 2012.