University of Northampton closes £5.5m leather institute

The university said its fashion and footwear courses will "remain and adapt" to any changes in leather provision

A university is to close its £5.5m leather education facility four years after it opened due to a "severe decline in student numbers".

Opened in 2019, the Institute for Creative Leather Technologies (ICLT) at the University of Northampton is the only tannery at a university in Europe.

An internal consultation found that the facility was no longer viable.

Trade body Leather UK said it was "disappointed" by news of the closure and urged a rethink.

As well as falling demand, the university also cited an economic downturn and rising energy prices in its decision.

The university's vice chancellor, Anne-Marie Kilday, said: "The costs of teaching declining student numbers can no longer justify cross-subsidy from other areas of the university, especially at a time that the whole sector is struggling financially."

She said fashion and footwear courses would "remain and adapt to any changes in leather provision".

Students enrolled on courses specific to leathercraft would be able to complete their studies, the university confirmed.

It said recruitment to its courses had been heavily impacted by Brexit and the loss of a regular flow of students from Italy.

The specialist institute welcomed its first students in 2019

Kerry Senior, Director of Leather UK, said the decision was "really very disappointing".

He said: "I think it's a great loss of the UK and global industry, it's a unique centre for teaching and research for the leather industry and once we've lost it we won't get anything similar back."

Mr Senior added that the university had been "short-sighted", saying it should have given longer to re-establish itself after the pandemic and Brexit.

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Northamptonshire has a long-standing history of boot and shoe production, dating back to the middle of the 19th Century when the industry began to grow rapidly.

Leather-related courses have been taught at the University of Northampton since 1978, and there is evidence of tanneries - which produce leather from animal hides - in the town dating back 900 years.