Colchester Institute is celebrating after being successful in a £3.7m bid to the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, which aims to improve the energy efficiency at its main Colchester Campus.
As one of the largest vocational training providers in North Essex, the Colleges Sheepen Road site supports over 8,000 Further Education, Higher Education and Apprenticeship learners and will see a massive reduction in energy usage. As a result of a significant investment in green technologies, principal buildings housing subjects such as Business, Accounting, Sport and Public Services, as well as Hair and Beauty Salon Studies will see an improvement in performance.
The bid, submitted in November last year has been approved by Salix, on behalf of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. Initially supporting the replacement of gas fired boilers with air source heat pumps, further developments will see the replacement of single glazed crittal windows and insulation panels throughout the main block.
Work will start almost immediately and run throughout the summer, in readiness for completion at the start of the next academic year. It is expected that by using the latest heating technology, as well as improving the thermal properties of the buildings, that the project will save over 1.5m KwH in energy consumption.
An image of what the buildings are expected to look like is below:
With a need to act quickly to secure the funding, the bid was developed with specialist support from Varsity Consulting.
Gary Horne, Executive Vice Principal at the College has spoken about the benefits this will bring to the College. “This project is a gamechanger for us, as it will greatly enhance the face of the College whilst also massively reducing energy consumption. We are hugely indebted to our bid development partners who acted so swiftly and we are also pleased to secure Cadman Construction, who have an in-depth knowledge of our buildings, to deliver the upgrades on behalf of the College.”
Alison Andreas, Principal and Chief Executive described the project as a real boost towards delivering the goals outlined in the College’s Strategic Plan. “These buildings are at the forefront of our site and this will not only transform the external façade but more importantly, it will dramatically improve the student experience once inside the classrooms, computer suites and salons. We have an ambition to support the Government’s carbon reduction targets as far as possible, and this project provides the perfect platform for us to take this forward.”
Tom Francis, Managing Director of Varsity Consulting said “We have a great working relationship with the College, having completed a number of successful projects, and we were delighted to assist the bid development with our project partners.”
Stuart Cadman, Managing Director of Cadman Construction said “We are especially pleased to have been selected by Colchester Institute for this landmark project. Colchester Institute has trained numerous Cadman employees over many years and we are proud to continue our long association with this highly respectable training provider.”
The College would like to thank the following partners for their direct assistance in developing the successful DBEIS funding application; Salix Finance Ltd, Varsity Consulting, DT Architects, Sharman and Grimwade Ltd, Colchester City Council.
