Former rail college could reopen with new tenant

The college in Doncaster trained apprentices who were meant to work on rail projects including the cancelled HS2

A new tenant could occupy a former rail engineering college before the end of the year.

The National College for Advanced Transport and Infrastructure closed in 2023, just six years after it opened, when student numbers fell after the slowdown of projects such as HS2.

Doncaster Council said a new education provider had expressed interest in the building and it could reopen within months.

Representatives will meet with the interested party on 14 August and the city's mayor said the discussions were "really encouraging".

The site, originally called the High Speed Rail College, opened with a purpose-built campus in the Lakeside area in 2017.

It was planned to train apprentices who would work on major infrastructure projects, but ran into difficulties when government contracts were not awarded to rail engineering firms at the rate expected.

A Department of Education covenant that is in place until 2043 stipulated that the building must be used for post-16 education, training and skills development.

Ros Jones, mayor of Doncaster, said: "The building itself offers such an exciting opportunity for a new education provider to help support our ambitions for lifelong learning and skills.”

A 25-year lease would be agreed between the tenant and the council, which owns the site.

The identity of the new occupant would only be revealed at the end of negotiations.

The closure of the college led to the loss of 42 jobs, and 170 students were transferred elsewhere.

The college was taken over by the University of Birmingham in 2021 and renamed the National College for Advanced Transport and Infrastructure.

Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail].