New College purchase completed by Telford & Wrekin Council
A deal to buy the former New College site in Wellington has been completed.
Telford & Wrekin Council has acquired the site, on King Street, to help support the area's regeneration.
The council said the purchase would assure the site's future, and ensure it can complement and support Wellington’s wider regeneration.
The next steps will be to develop a master plan for the redevelopment of the New College site over the coming months which will include continued consideration of proposals for education provision, including special school provision, alongside other complimentary uses.
The community will also be given a chance to have their say as part of further survey work carried out by the council.
Council leader Shaun Davies said: “This is a very important site and has the potential to make a significant contribution through a mixed use development to support the regeneration of the area.
“This deal means that we can bring forward a development that fully considers the context of the local area to benefit the community in Wellington.”
Last year the council had been looking at buying the site to use it as a new home for Haughton Special School.
In a report to the council over the purchase of the building, it was described as sitting in one of the most deprived areas nationally.
It states: "New College sits within College Ward, an area ranked within the 10 per cent most deprived nationally. The ward has particularly high deprivation indices in relation to employment deprivation, education, skills and training. College also includes one of the borough's largest BME populations."
The New College building was originally Wellington Girls' High School, which opened in 1908.
It closed as part of the Telford College merger, which saw Telford College of Arts and Technology (TCAT) and New College join together.
Students continued to work at both colleges throughout the 2017/18 academic year, even after the merger was approved by Government.
But then all classes were brought together on the former TCAT site from September last year.
