College wants its money back (From Oxford Mail)

College wants its money back

5:41pm Monday 20th July 2009 in

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A COLLEGE is set to ask for compensation from the Government after it pulled the plug on funding for a major campus redevelopment.

Abingdon and Witney College was one of 144 colleges across the country which had to freeze building projects after it emerged the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) did not have enough money to pay for all the schemes it had pledged to support.

The news came as a damning report was published by a House of Commons Select Sommittee, which said the Building Colleges for the Future scheme collapsed due to “catastrophic” mismanagement and a lack of direction, which would result in millions of pounds already invested by colleges being written off.

Abingdon and Witney College had already ploughed £5m into preparation for a planned £30m rebuild of its Witney campus when the LSC said it would not be providing any cash for the scheme — and now organisers are seeking to get some of that money back.

Assistant principal Steve Billcliffe said: “We were so advanced in our scheme and had committed so much in the way of costs and preparatory work that we are stuck in a position where we cannot go back, and we don’t have the money to go forward.

“This report adds more pressure on the Government to help find a solution to the problem.

“It also lays the blame for the fiasco firmly at the doors of the LSC management, which supports our claim for compensation for the money that we have invested in getting this far.”

The LSC had given approval in principal to projects totalling £2.7bn, but had only £300m in the budget.

That money included renting purpose-built temporary classrooms for £40,000 a month — something which had been budgeted for for two years provided the cash was forthcoming.

It is now likely to be in place far longer as many of the buildings earmarked for demolition had been stripped and were now unusable.

The college was a week away from demolition when the first question marks over funding were raised, and organisers had scheduled to start work on the new build this week.

Mr Billcliffe said not all the £5m spent so far would be wasted and negotiations were going on with the LSC about compensation.

He said the Select Committee report indicated it could be decades before the LSC had funds available so alternative plans were being considered.

Talks are being held with West Oxfordshire District Council about the possibility of money being lent to the college at a reasonable interest rate, or the £40,000 a month rent being converted to a mortgage.

“He said: “We are seeking compensation, looking for alternative sources of finance and considering going forward with a new build programme that is less ambitious than the original.”

fbardsley@oxfordmail.co.uk