A turf-cutting ceremony has marked the official start of work on Wiltshire College’s new £21m campus in Chippenham.
The development is being funded by an award from the Skills Funding Agency and forms part of the Swindon & Wiltshire Local Economic Partnership initiative and Chippenham Vision Master Plan. 
Existing buildings on the site will be demolished and replaced by a new 9,100 sq m, three-storey college building due to be completed in autumn next year.
The new building will be flexible to meet the future anticipated demand of students, employers and the community and will provide industry standard workshops and vocationally-tailored spaces, together with realistic working environments.
Pictured, from left: Chippenham MP Duncan Hames cuts the first sod alongside Mayor of Chippenham Cllr John Scragg, student representative Jaques Gernonn-Reidy, acting principal Amanda Burnside, chair of Governors Helen Birchenough and Richard Jones, operations director of Willmott Dixon
It will be able to accommodate more than 1,000 students and support growth in vocational training and apprenticeships in areas such as engineering, construction, media and hair and beauty, as well as university level courses and Army resettlement.
College acting principal Amanda Burnside said “This is a landmark project for both the college and the wider community of Chippenham and we are very excited to be starting work on it. It represents a significant and long-term investment in the skills of the next generation which will go towards building a better future for the region.”
Chippenham MP Duncan Hames added: “It is wonderful to see this exciting project really getting underway. The next few months will see dramatic changes on the site here at Wiltshire College Chippenham. I am delighted that this is happening after some false dawns in the past. It will transform the environment in which Chippenham’s young people can learn the skills that they need to flourish in their careers.”
The professional team behind the new campus includes contractor Willmott Dixon with Buro Happold as building services consultant, structural engineer Hydrock and Gleeds as cost consultant. The architects are Bristol practice AWW.
