Construction National

New specialist construction facility for Somerset college

A new £1.5m construction and mechanisation training facility funded by EDF Energy is to be built by ISG at Cannington in Somerset.
Bridgewater College will then be able to add courses in a range of civil engineering and construction programmes to its existing offering across their Bridgwater and Wylds Road sites, where students already study brickwork, carpentry, electrical installation and plumbing.

There are specialist workshops for each trade, equipped with industry standard tools and equipment, and a range of classrooms with computers and interactive boards.

The Wylds Road Construction Training Centre is also a designated CSCS Health and Safety assessment centre, and will be assisting employers who are looking to join the nuclear supply chain by providing the initial training in Client/Contractor National Safety Group (CCNSG).

The new scheme, however, is being funded by EDF Energy to help ensure that skills are available locally to help deliver the proposed Hinkley Point C nuclear power station project, which the energy supplier hopes will be operational by 2020.

The 26-week construction programme will see ISG build a single storey teaching block with adjacent vehicle storage, and a maintenance and training yard on the brownfield site at Cannington, ensuring that Bridgwater College can offer both theoretical and practical vehicle and equipment training.

Bath-based architect DKA are involved in the design, incorporating a traditionally built teaching block, four classrooms, administrative areas and toilet blocks. In the adjacent eight acre training area, ISG will construct two steel-framed structures for storing the training equipment and vehicles, along with two concrete ramps leading from the sheds into the training area. ISG will also build an acoustic bund around the outdoor training area. Preparation of the external training space itself will be carried out by the college following completion of construction works.

ISG’s John Rawlinson, managing director – South West, said: "This project addresses the need for practical and targeted construction skills and demonstrates how training providers and potential clients can work together to offer skill development opportunities for future generations of construction professionals.

"The mix of classroom-based learning and hands-on vehicle operation will greatly enhance the facilities available at Bridgwater College and provide an example for other institutions to follow."