MP Andy Slaughter Fears for Future of Hammersmith College Campus

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College says 'active review' could mean redevelopment of Gliddon Road site

Hammersmith MP Andy Slaughter has expressed fears for the future of the Hammersmith campus of Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College, after a proposal was made for its future redevelopment.

On his latest blog, the MP says: " Whether you like it or not (I do) the redbrick Ealing, Hammersmith & West London College building on Talgarth Road is a Hammersmith landmark.

" Now it is falling into the developers’ jaws too. Plans to demolish it and rebuild on a fraction of the site were presented last week.

" The capacity of the College would halve, leaving the rest of the site for other educational uses and housing.

" I’m prepared to look at the scheme, but I fear that once we lose the existing building the large and valuable site may prove too tempting for the realtors.

" EHWLC has three other sites in west London. One, in Acton, is already being sold.

" It may be tempting to switch the Hammersmith campus to upmarket residential on the excuse that educational use can be provided on cheaper land."

A spokesperson for Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College says in response: " The College is actively reviewing the provision, education and skills needs for the local community in order that it can effectively provide for the future.

" A possible outcome of the review could mean redevelopment of the College site to provide industry standard and state of the art facilities to ensure students are work and job-ready or can progress onto an apprenticeship or Higher Education."

The spokesperson adds: "The meeting referred to was seeking key stakeholders’ views at this early stage. We continue to be committed to keeping our stakeholders and community informed and if and when a scheme progresses we will actively engage with all stakeholders."

Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College is spread across four locations at Acton Construction and Stem Centre, Ealing Green College, Southall Community College and Hammersmith and Fulham College in Gliddon Road. This, says EHWLC is the largest of its sites and has the largest number of students.

Its description continues: " The College offers a wide range of full-time and part-time courses in many subjects for students of different ages, abilities and needs. Because of our broad range of courses, students are automatically in a privileged position to progress onto a higher level of study with us, should they wish to."

For those interested in studying at the College, an Open Evening is being held on April 13 from 4pm - 7pm, offering information and advice on courses including Access to HE, Business & Retail, Childcare/Healthcare, Hair & Beauty, HE, Hospitality & Catering, Sport/Sporting Academy, Travel & Tourism, and Computing & ICT.

Find out more and register for a place here.

 

April 1, 2016

 

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