Campuses to undergo £107m revamp

The Burslem campus is one of two which will be redeveloped

Two college campuses in Stoke-on-Trent could be totally redeveloped as part of a £107m project.

The work, on the Cauldon and Burslem campuses, is expected to be completed by 2013.

Stoke-on-Trent College, which first opened in 1991, now has 4,000 full-time students and 30,000 people studying there part-time.

A total of £90m of the redevelopment will come from the Learning and Skills Council.

The college will have to find the remaining £17m itself.

A planning application is expected to be put in early next year, detailing the plans.

If that gets the go ahead, work will start a year later.

'Seminal moment'

Those behind the project said they hoped having more - and bigger - buildings would allow them to take on extra students and offer more courses.

As part of the plans a small park in Shelton, which runs adjacent to the Cauldon campus, will also be redeveloped.

The announcement comes weeks after Stoke Sixth Form College was given permission to rebuild its centre on Leek Road.

Both colleges will form part of the city's so-called University Quarter.

Patrick Wenger, the chair of governors at the college, said: "This is a seminal moment in the history of Stoke on Trent and our success should be celebrated by all.

"The skills that the college will introduce into the workforce will help the city compete locally, regionally and nationally."