Harrogate College: Approval for £22m green technology hub

The new building will be smaller than the existing 1980s block

Plans to demolish the main building of a college and build a £22m hub to train students in green technology have been approved.

Harrogate College said the new facilities at Hornbeam Park would become a "centre of renewable and sustainable excellence".

Proposals include a mock hospital ward, a digital technology suite and an electric vehicle workshop.

Work on the project is due to be completed by July 2025.

Planning documents considered by North Yorkshire Council ahead of granting approval stated the main office block, built in the 1980s, had fallen into disrepair.

The replacement will be smaller than the existing building and would make "education more efficient and streamlined for students".

The plans received 28 objections over the reduction in car parking spaces, though the college said there was an overprovision of parking at the current car park of 48%.

Harrogate College, part of the Luminate Education Group, caters to full and part-time students and offers adult education and apprenticeships.

Principal Danny Wild told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the plan's approval on 24 April was "great news for the college, town and North Yorkshire".

"[It] will enable us to upgrade our campus to enhance our industry-standard training facilities... and help us provide even more targeted support for local employers by tailoring our training to produce the skilled workers they need."

He said the college would work to keep disruption to a minimum during construction.