Bath College is planning to build a £3.3 million state-of-the-art Construction Skills Centre at its Somer Valley Campus in Radstock.

Experts from BBA Architects have been appointed to work on designs for a two-storey building, housing 500 students on existing car park space.

A planning application will be submitted after a public consultation in February, giving community members a chance to view 2D plans. Bath College has received funding for the new construction skills centre from the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP). The plans mark a significant investment in the area following the merger between Bath College and Norton Radstock College last April.

Bath College Principal, Matt Atkinson, said they will be helping to boost economic development and employment in the Somer Valley. He said: “We are creating a centre of excellence for the West of England to make sure there are enough skilled people for a number of significant building projects scheduled to take place over the next ten years.

“The plan is to reinvigorate this campus, to give students more space than they have currently and to bring all the trades under one roof.

“The Construction Skills Centre will be a talent pool for local employers to come and find their future workforce. It will contribute to the growth of apprenticeships and the government’s target to grow apprenticeships.”

Students studying bricklaying, stonemasonry, carpentry, plumbing, electrical installation and refrigeration and air conditioning will all study at the new centre. Currently courses run at Bath College’s Construction Skills Centre, on Westmoreland Station Road, and its city centre campus.

These will be moved over to Somer Valley by September 2017. Residents are invited to two public consultations on Thursday, 25th February at the Somer Valley Campus, running from 12 noon to 2 p.m. and 5.30 p.m. to 7.30 p.m.

Mr Atkinson said: “We are aiming to submit a planning application towards the end of February and we want to give residents the opportunity to come and learn about our plans, because we are committed to consulting local people.”