Posted on 5 November
Leeds College of Building (LCB) has announced the purchase of a large building adjacent to its North Street Campus — a move that will significantly expand facilities and open up new training opportunities.
The 5,000 m2 former Vodafone site on Melbourne Street sits next to LCB’s North Street Campus and will effectively increase the size of the estate by a third, marking a significant investment in the college’s future growth.
The acquisition strengthens LCB’s presence in an area where it has delivered education and skills for over 60 years. LCB is the UK’s only specialist Further Education college dedicated to the construction and built environment sector, working with over 800 employers, including NG Bailey, BAM Nuttall, Morgan Sindall, and JN Bentley.
Planning is now underway to determine how the additional space can best be developed to address regional skills gaps. The project is now seeking crucial funding for renovation works and specialist equipment to support training in key government priority areas, including infrastructure, sustainability, and new housing.”
LCB CEO and Principal Nikki Davis, who currently represents the further education sector on the Construction Skills Mission Board, said:
“We are thrilled to announce the purchase of our neighbouring site. This exciting acquisition will enable us to train even more construction professionals and safeguard a talent pipeline in areas such as groundwork for future construction projects across the region.“
This expansion is a significant step towards our ambition for growth as one of the nation’s only Construction Technical Excellence Colleges – strengthening a vital workforce that will keep the construction industry, and our economy, moving forward.“
With the government’s Skills White Paper targeting 60,000 new skilled jobs by the end of this Parliament, we’re optimistic that this project will secure vital investment and support from government and regional partners such as the West Yorkshire Combined Authority.”
Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, said:
“It’s fantastic to see Leeds College of Building going from strength to strength, first being recognised as the Technical Excellence College for Construction for all of Yorkshire and the Humber and now expanding into these exciting new premises.
“By training the skilled workers we need for transformational projects like constructing tramlines, building new homes and retrofitting existing ones, Leeds College of Building puts our region at the epicentre of the nation’s rebuilding effort, creating good jobs and putting more money in people’s pockets.”
LCB was named one of the first ever Construction Technical Excellence Colleges (CTEC) in August. Only 10 colleges across England were awarded the status for the 2025 – 2026 academic year, with LCB selected to represent the Yorkshire & the Humber region.
The ambition is for the network of CTEC hubs to partner with other local training providers and employers to improve training standards and train up to 40,000 people in high-demand trades by 2029, tackling construction skills shortages.
Nikki added: “This is an exciting time for LCB. With government backing and the support of our partners, we can start to build a stronger future for both our students and the UK construction sector.”
The building acquisition was facilitated by Holder & Co, an independent commercial property consultants based in Horsforth. The purchase is the latest boost for LCB’s North Street Campus. A year ago, the site benefitted from an impressive £750k renovation programme, which transformed the campus over eight weeks.
Once refurbished, the newly acquired Melbourne Street building will align North Street Campus with LCB’s modern South Bank Campus, which opened its South Bank 1 building in 2015, following by South Bank 2 in 2019.
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