Runshaw College announces plans to demolish Foxholes restaurant - here's what will replace it

Bosses at Runshaw College in Leyland have tabled plans to demolish the former Foxholes Restaurant building and replace it with a new two-storey building to accommodate teaching laboratories, a car parking area and associated works.

No statements have been issued publicly by the college, but an application form, ecological reports and details drawings have been submitted to South Ribble Borough Council.

The drawings show the single-storey Foxholes building next to Dalehead will be knocked down and a new building with a slightly smaller footprint built in its place. There would be an increase in car parking spaces from six to 18.

An artist’s impression of how the new building would look show it with green and grey cladding, and named Windermere. All of Runshaw’s teaching blocks are named after places in the Lake District.

What happened to Foxholes?

The Foxholes restaurant was closed in 2019 because the college couldn’t afford to keep it open. The facility, which was a training centre for would-be chefs and catering students, had been open to the public for 31 years.

During that time it had been a training ground for a bevy of chefs and hospitality students who have gone on to work at prestigious restaurants and hotels in the UK and abroad. It also notched up a clutch of industry awards and was the first college ever to be awarded the AA College Restaurant of the Year title.

This is what the former Runshaw College site in Euxton will be turning into

In recent years, the Langdale Road campus of Runshaw College has seen a major overhaul, with the new Buttermere site completed in early 2023. The two-storey building complete with 12 classrooms offers a range of facilities that is home to the Professional Engineering School, including both T Levels in Design and Civil Engineering.