Yeovil College has announced a public consultation development event on 23 November between 3pm and 7pm at its Mudford Road Campus, Kingston Building.

The event follows the formal announcement of delivery partner, BAM Construction Ltd, by the Department for Education (DfE) who will oversee the new redevelopment of Yeovil College.

Last year, the DfE announced that Yeovil College was identified as a beneficiary of the FE Capital Transformation Fund. This substantial investment means that over the next four years the full campus will benefit from an ambitious campus redesign and development scheme.

Yeovil College is one of only 16 colleges in the UK to receive a share of FE capital transformation fund, worth £1.5 billion and was introduced to rebuild college estates and create modern, fit-for-purpose spaces to meet the needs of students and the communities they serve. Yeovil College is also providing match funding for a proportion of the build and confirms that the land owned by the College will remain as it currently is, with no additional capital being raised through the sale of assets, including land.

Mark Bolton, CEO & Principal of Yeovil College, said: "The Public Consultation event formally kickstarts the biggest investment in education in Yeovil and our local area in our living history. The quality and appointment of these spaces will be amazing for our community, our business environment and our future learners, creating the spaces to fulfil our high aspirations.

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"The campus transformation plans will deliver a campus which reflects our approach and attitude to all that we do – only the best is good enough at Yeovil College. This is game-changing for the people of South Somerset and North and West Dorset.

"The DfE investment secures a big piece in the jigsaw for our ambitious £50 million plus campus transformation plan, which commenced in 2020 and will be completed over the next four years in a very mindful and considered way.

"With more than £12 million worth of development already invested in our college over the past year, we are making significant progress in driving higher and technical skills needed by our local business community. This includes the launch of a new Health, Education and Science Centre, Institute of Technology spaces in Digital, IT, Creative, Engineering and Health and Social Care, plus investment in Construction, Automotive and Engineering and Sport, the student experience is already leaping ahead with true 21st Century facilities being developed to give our learners the edge in their careers. This is an exciting place to be.

"We encourage members of our community to interact with us, work alongside us and share in this exciting development, and we very much welcome you to our event on 23rd November."

Appointed partner, BAM has established long-term partnerships in Somerset that have helped shape the county and the places where people work, learn and take leisure.

Graham Kindgon, Construction Director for BAM said: "Our sustainability credentials for creating net zero carbon schemes in the education sector are exceptionally strong so this fantastic new development for Yeovil College is an ideal opportunity for us to work together collaboratively, creating the kind of built environment that people want to learn in for the future.

"Our experience in circularity of materials, digital construction, engineering and designing for sustainability and in passive design techniques will assist us in meeting the needs of the modern learning environment and doing so responsibly.

"The result will be a net zero carbon in operation campus based on the Department for Education’s sustainability principles. This means maximising natural light, using thermal mass to regulate internal temperatures, and integrating cross ventilation to give great air quality.

"Air source heat pumps will be used for heating and hot water, dimmable LED lighting supplements natural light, and reduced energy consumption measures. The buildings are designed to generate sufficient electricity throughout the year to meet their annual electrical demands.

"BAM is committed to quantify the embodied carbon of construction, providing valuable data allowing the College to reduce whole life carbon across the campus."