Graham Stuart MP to Meet With East Riding College

MP for Beverley and Holderness, Graham Stuart, is to meet with the head of East Riding College as moves continue to secure its move to new premises in Flemingate.

Above: Flemingate, the site where the college is hoping to develop a new campus for learning

Graham is meeting with Derek Branton, the college principal and John Doris, director of resources, on Friday.

The college has been planning to move from its cramped location on Gallows Lane, Beverley, to a purpose built site on Flemingate. The new site would also be closer to vital transport links allowing better access for students.

Graham said: “Following the fiasco of the Learning and Skills Council effectively pulling the funding rug from under the college, a lot of work has been done to try and keep the project alive.

“I am keen to keep abreast of developments and make sure I can give whatever help I possibly can to make the proposed move a reality.”

The project was estimated to cost £23 million or £24 million, and the LSC had been expected to fund just £15 million of that before it announced it had promised more than it had and the cash was not allocated to East Riding College.

The new campus would serve isolated rural communities—the east riding is the largest single unitary authority area in the country—and cover the area all the way to the coast, marginal communities in many of the coastal towns and villages and the area to the west of Beverley.

Graham added: “The current site is not fit for purpose and needs to be replaced. It is vital this building programme can go ahead so we must continue to look for new and alternative ways of funding it. ”