Centre will build city's reputation
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The £11 million-plus project, a partnership between Stoke-on-Trent City Council, Stoke-on-Trent College and the Building Research Establishment (BRE), will see the college's construction students moving to new facilities there, while the college will expand its range of courses.
It will also feature commercial training space, a 120-seat conference centre, a "demonstrator" unit to showcase the latest refurbishment techniques and products and a visitor centre housed in one of the site's old bottle kilns.
The educational facilities are due to open in December and the entire project is on course to be finished by the end of 2012; two years ahead of schedule.
CoRE was registered as a company last month and interim chief executive Nigel Barrett, pictured below, said he is currently in discussions with "two or three" high-profile companies about sponsorship.
He said: "We have had interest from companies based in Erlangen, where Stoke-on-Trent is twinned with, and there are potentially some very exciting developments there.
"We have reached the stage where the project now has real credibility in market place, so people are coming to us which is really positive.
"The only issue with potential financial sponsors is that we don't want to dilute the CoRE brand; what we are looking for is benefits for the city and North Staffordshire."
He said: "As we've rebuilt the old pottery works, a couple of things have emerged.
"We've discovered that one of the bottle kilns is from the 1950s, so it's quite rare. We've got a bid in to the Heritage Lottery Fund to create a visitor experience in there. We had a very positive community meeting recently and we believe the interest is there."
Once the visitor centre is up and running, it will promote other city attractions.
Councillor Ruth Rosenau, cabinet member for regeneration, said: "It just shows the benefits, not just locally, but throughout the city."
Mr Barrett said the centre will act as a valuable resource for local construction firms.
He said: "The marketplace for reconstruction and refurbishment is massive – 80,000 houses a year in West Midlands alone. We want the people and businesses of this city to be able to maximise their opportunities.
"Here we will be able to showcase the latest products, which will bring in people from all over the UK, and follow that up with training.
"In terms of training we are in quite advanced discussions with one of the national training providers and we are also talking to one of the big energy firms."
Parts of the 6,000 sq metre (64,500 sq feet) centre will feature a brown roof to encourage insect activities and solar panels to generate energy.
Mr Barrett said he believes students will benefit from moving to the site up to a year before the rest of the project is finished.
He said: "It will be a real learning experience for the students to be able to see the latest retrofit.
"We've been able to retain some of the flooring inside the old works."
The centre has received funding from a range of sources, including £3.4 million from the European Regional Development Fund and £2.5 million from the Department of Education.
However, a bid for £4.7 million from the Government's Regional Growth Fund was turned down earlier this year and The Sentinel reported last month that the forecasted overall cost had risen from £9 million to almost £11.5 million.
About £500,000 in savings have already been identified and Mr Barrett said the centre itself will soon begin to generate money which can be ploughed back in to the project.
A request for the council to make up the shortfall will be discussed at a full council meeting later this month.
Mr Barrett said: "We are not waiting for the building to be finished – the first training event on sustainable housing will be delivered by the council in October, so it will be generating money.
"The council has been very supportive thus far and I hope that continues."