‘We are delighted’- Runshaw College receives funding boost for campus development
A college in Leyland has shared its delight to receive a funding boost for its current development plans.
At the end of last month, the Department of Education announced that 33 colleges in the North West were to get a share of a £56 million government investment.
One of the colleges set to benefit will be Runshaw College in Leyland, which was listed as receiving £1,837,272.13 in funds.
The government has assured colleges that they will have the flexibility to decide how the funding is spent, so it can be directed where it is needed most.
We therefore approached Runshaw College to ask how they intend to spend the money, and the establishment filled us in with an exclusive comment.
A college spokesperson told us: “We are delighted to receive news of this funding and welcome the government’s recognition of the vital role that Further Education Colleges play in supporting young people, skills development and regional growth.
“At Runshaw, we have a clear and ambitious campus masterplan, which focuses on delivering the highest‑quality, inclusive and future‑ready learning environments. This funding creates further opportunities to enhance our facilities, complementing the significant work already underway for our new Science building ("Windermere") and other planned improvements across the campus. This latest funding therefore provides additional capacity to accelerate priorities within our campus masterplan, ensuring facilities remain safe, sustainable and fit for the needs of a modern Further Education College.”
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The College first developed a Campus Masterplan in June 2022, calling it the start of their journey to consolidate all facilities onto their Leyland Campus.
In recent years, the college has already invested over £20 million in upgrading college resources.
This includes the opening of their Engineering building, Buttermere, in early 2023, their Healthcare Hospital Hub in August 2023, and in 2024 the college invested more money in a new welcome entrance, dining outlets, and student seating areas.
Next up in their development plan is their landmark project, the Windermere building, which will be the biggest in Runshaw’s history once complete.
Windermere will be a state-of-the-art science building that will replace the main Dalehead building, and it it this project that the government’s funding will mainly go towards.
It will be a two-storey building, providing 12 industry leading science laboratories, an IT suite and collaborative learning space.
Granted planning permission in March 2025, the Windermere project is currently on track to be open for students in September 2027.
A spokesperson added: “We strongly believe that we have the finest facilities in the region and have worked very hard to make sure that our students have the facilities they deserve.
“We are currently developing the next phase of our Masterplan, following extensive consultation with staff, students and partners. “
Other Lancashire colleges due to benefit from the extra funding are Blackburn College, Blackpool and the Fylde College, Burnley College, East Lancashire Learning Group (Nelson & Colne College), Lancaster and Morecambe College, Myerscough College and NCG (they have campuses in West Lancashire, as well as elsewhere in the country) and Preston College.
You can read more about the government’s funding announcement here.