The City Learning Quarter is a vibrant hub in the heart of Wolverhampton’s city centre, bringing together educational facilities in one connected focal point, as well as addressing city centre regeneration.
KEY INFORMATION
Location: Wolverhampton, UK
Date started: 2019
Completion date: 2026
Client type: real estate
Main capabilities: cost and commercial management, procurement and supply chain, programme advisory, project management
What does it take to create a modern and inclusive educational hub for a UK city centre?
The City of Wolverhampton Council sought to bring together fragmented educational services into a transformative educational hub in the city centre, under the newly named City Learning Quarter (CLQ).
Phase one compromised of the development of an Advanced Technology and Automotive centre, (ATAC) at the City of Wolverhampton College’s Wellington Road Campus - to accommodate the types of courses not suitable in a city centre setting - and phase two, a state-of-the-art four-storey college campus for 2,000 students, centralised Adult Education facilities and the refurbishment of the Grade II* listed Central Library.
Key to the success of the programme was our management of multiple stakeholders and funding bodies, while maintaining governance and budget discipline.
Leading end-to-end programme delivery
We led the programme delivery from inception to completion, embedding revised governance frameworks, aligning forecasts with budgets and restructuring delivery teams to ensure collaboration and efficiency.
Our proactive engagement secured multi-source funding and mitigated risks such as inflation. Our bespoke HIVE platform has given key decision-makers access to live data, keeping them informed throughout the project’s delivery, which has enabled quick and confident decision making.
Saving carbon, fixing the skills gap
The project is delivering and will continue to support, significant community and environmental benefits. The new layout reduces the need for travel between different sites and the connected city centre tram, rail and bus facilities, as well as more energy efficient buildings, will contribute to lower carbon emissions.
It also preserves cultural heritage with the sensitive refurbishment of the Grade II* listed Library and redevelopment of the former college site. Plus, the college’s move to the new city campus unlocks regeneration opportunities for future housing at its out-dated Paget Road campus.
The ATAC facility directly addresses the skills gap in the automotive and EV sectors, supporting learners from diverse backgrounds. The college forecasts that over a ten-year period approximately 45,000 people will benefit from learning at the City Learning Quarter and around 7,500 apprenticeships will be started.
Mark Bassett, Director of City Development said:
The City Learning Quarter is an extremely complex programme of work and at every stage over a number of years, the City of Wolverhampton Council has been able to rely on professional advice from Turner & Townsend to progress the programme with informed decision-making.
"Turner & Townsend has excelled at developing and maintaining positive relationships with Council representatives and other key stakeholders, fostering collaboration and transparency throughout."
