Berkeley campus might be bought by Great British Nuclear

Just under 400 students are now studying at the UTC which will not be part of the sale

A college has put its technology campus up for sale and the government's Great British Nuclear organisation has expressed interest.

South Gloucestershire and Stroud College (SGS) has put its Gloucestershire Science & Technology Park on the market.

The Berkeley site is around 45 acres.

"We know that the site needs money put into it for development so the only option we have is to sell the land," said Kevin Hamblin, CEO of SGS.

Gloucestershire Science & Technology Park was set up in 2016 when the SGS Group purchased the redundant Berkeley site for £3m from the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.

The University Technical College (UTC), which sits on the site, is an initiative to focus on technical education for students between 14-18 years old.

About 400 students are now studying at the UTC which will not be part of the sale.

The government's Great British Nuclear organisation has been looking at two decommissioned nuclear sites at Berkeley and Oldbury.

Mr Hamblin said: "I believe the value of our site is in the possible siting of the small modular reactor project (SMR) and the industries associated with that development.

"I am really excited by the prospect of the SMRs coming to Gloucestershire - it would be great for the economy of our county and local jobs."

SGS are now looking for expressions of interest to develop Berkeley by the end of October with final proposals by Christmas.