Funding for Nottingham hub approved

Nottingham College has received funding for its proposed £58M City Hub campus.

The cost for the project is due to be covered by an £18M loan from Nottingham City Council, College funds and £30M from D2N2, which formally agreed the funding.

D2N2 is the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) for the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire area. It works with its areas skills and training providers, businesses, local authorities, and community and voluntary sector organisations to create jobs and boost the economy.

As part of this, D2N2 works to resolve the ‘skills gap’; – the issue of older workers retiring, with no-one of a sufficient skill level to replace them.

As part of its overall mission to boost the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire economy, D2N2 has an allocation of over £250M in Local Growth Funding (LGF) from Government. This is used to co-invest in projects across the D2N2 area which create jobs, improve infrastructure and attract investment.

The Nottingham City Hub is set to be built on a site next to the tram bridge on Canal Street and Middle Hill. The building will be home to around 2,000 students and will house a new café, new training restaurant, performance theatre and business hub.

Work on the City Hub is due to start this summer (2018) and should be ready to welcome its first students in September 2020.

Matthew Wheatley, D2N2 LEP Chief Executive, said: “The Nottingham City Hub has the potential to change the face of further education in the D2N2 area. By working to ensure that the qualifications provided and the students who study at the college are fit for industry, the Nottingham City Hub will play a full and meaningful role in the growth of the D2N2 economy.”