The Learning and Skills Council has recently announced that it will be freezing its capital programme. This means that 144 projects across the country, given ‘in principle’ approval, will be put on hold. For Worcestershire this means that no projects at all will go ahead at the moment; for Kidderminster, it means there is uncertainty over the Sladen School redevelopment.
Kidderminster College is at an advanced stage with plans to redevelop Sladen School into a learning centre – a centre that will be a centre of excellence for Wyre Forest and that will increase opportunities for local students and employers. The redevelopment is seen as part of the overall Wyre Forest Schools Review, although funded separately.
Mark Garnier, who is Wyre Forest’s Conservative Parliamentary Spokesman and a Governor of Kidderminster College and sits on the provisional Sladen Redevelopment Steering Committee, said of the news: “This a great blow for both the College and the wider Wyre Forest. Whilst I would stress that this is not the end of the Sladen Project, any uncertainty about the outcome is unwelcome. Kidderminster and Wyre Forest need more investment, not less, and the Sladen project is something that would be of great benefit both as urban redevelopment and for educating Wyre Forest students. By having excellent educational facilities, we can encourage more investors and employers into the district. This announcement by the LSC is doing exactly the opposite of what should be happening during this downturn – investment into value added projects.”