Groundbreaking ceremony takes place for College’s new £75m Town Centre Campus

We have officially begun construction work on the site of our new Town Centre Campus in the heart of Bridgend.

The groundbreaking ceremony was held on Thursday 17 October and was attended by Vikki Howells MS, Minister for Further and Higher Education, alongside members of the project team and representatives from Bridgend County Borough Council.

Our ambition is to create a net zero carbon building, with twenty-first-century learning and teaching facilities for post-16 education in Bridgend. The 13,000 sqm development will include relocated facilities that are currently based at our Cowbridge Road Campus, as well as community benefits, including a 200-seat theatre, hair and beauty salons, a coffee shop and flexible meeting spaces.

Principal and CEO of Bridgend College, Viv Buckley, reflected on reaching this momentous step in the construction process:

“All of us at Bridgend College are thrilled to see construction underway on our ambitious and exciting new campus development and we are delighted to have been able to mark this significant milestone today. It signifies our commitment to the communities we serve and celebrates the opportunities for lifelong learning and education the new campus will create within Bridgend County Borough. As an organisation dedicated to improving sustainability in our operations, this project aligns with our strategic goals and our journey to being net zero by 2030.”

£50m Welsh Government funding has been provided through the Sustainable Communities for Learning Programme. The Programme provides a long-term investment for schools and colleges in Wales and has seen more than £2.6bn invested since 2012.

Acknowledging this milestone in the project, the Minister for Higher and Further Education, Vikki Howells, said: 

“I recently announced my commitment to increase the visibility of academic and vocational routes for post-16 learners in Wales. Part of this work also includes investment into our colleges so they offer staff and learners high-quality learning and teaching facilities.

“Colleges are the heartbeat of our local communities, and the project fully supports our Town Centre First approach, helping to breathe new life into the town, providing a highly sustainable location for staff and learners.

“This is my first groundbreaking ceremony in my new role and it’s fantastic to see collaboration between the college, Welsh Government and the local authority.”

Willmott Dixon, the lead contractor of the project, has grown deep roots in Bridgend over the years, from their construction projects to their community work in the region.

Richard Jones, Director at Willmott Dixon, commented: 

“We are delighted to once again be working in partnership with Bridgend College. The new College campus will not only provide exceptional teaching and learning facilities, but also support the transformation of the heart of the town centre. We have a great deal of experience in delivering further education projects and I’m confident that our collaborative relationship with the College, our partners and stakeholders will see the construction of a building that will enable students and the wider community to thrive.”

Rio Architects has provided the designs of the new campus, having previously partnered with us on the construction of our award-winning STEAM Academy at our Pencoed Campus. With a focus on sustainable development, environmental efficiency and technical innovation, the plans capture many of our core organisational values.

These transformational plans represent more than a £75 million investment into the training of young people in Bridgend and members of the community who need opportunities to retrain and gain valuable employability skills. The investment will also reduce our environmental impact, with plans to connect to the new Bridgend district heat system. Partly funded by the Welsh Government’s Sustainable Communities for Learning programme, the development will play a key role in the regeneration of Bridgend Town Centre, supporting local businesses and utilising public transport links into the town.

Over the coming months, the community will see significant activity on the site as tower cranes arrive to begin building the reinforced concrete frame. Early in 2025 the structure of the main building will be completed allowing for the installation of bespoke glazing and cladding systems.