Right on time: Lawrence Vincent, left, congratulates Nick Rodgers, Willmott Dixon’s construction manager on the project as the building is released for fitting out. It opens to students in September.
Hertfordshire based construction company Willmott Dixon formally handed over an £11m Bournemouth & Poole College extension at North Road, Poole, to principal Lawrence Vincent this week. This completed a new milestone in the 100 year history of the college.
The ‘key’ was handed over on the exact day agreed in the original building contract. The extension includes a new theatre for performing arts to replace the Jellicoe Theatre in Constitution Hill. The theatre name is being retained. There are six rehearsal rooms and the building will be a base for the Wessex Youth Orchestra. There will also be four labs for health and medical sciences, a reading room and top of the range music practice facilities and student relaxation areas.
The new building which boasts energy saving design features, is in a prime position at the North Road campus and is the latest phase in a programme to upgrade all facilities. In the last three years the college, under Mr Vincent’s leadership, has seen the creation of a Science Technology Engineering and Maths (STEM) building; a new marine engineering school and a new building for the study of art and design.
