Talks over Ilkley Centre Closure
College heads have been called to a meeting with students and representatives of the community over plans to close Ilkley’s Bridge House learning centre. Students who study at Bradford College’s Bolton Bridge Road building are awaiting confirmation of a date for the summit from Bradford College bosses. A Wharfedale councillor who fought to stop Bradford College closing its centre at Burley Grange in Burley-in-Wharfedale, has also called for the college’s principal and governors to meet community repres-entatives, following last week’s announce-ment that Bridge House will close this summer. Councillor Matt Palmer said he was ‘astonished, disappointed and angry’ to read of the imminent closure of the Ilkley centre in last week’s Gazette, after earlier promises about providing adult education in Wharfedale. As Coun Palmer spoke out late last week, ‘for sale’ signs were going up at the Bolton Bridge Road premises, Bradford College’s last centre in Wharfedale.
Commercial property agent Dacres Commercial says the buildings and land are already attracting interest. The college’s lease for the site expires this summer, and the college says it cannot renew the lease for financial reasons. Cuts in Government funding and a rise in the cost of a new lease have been given as reasons for the move.
In a further twist, the businessman who took on Burley Grange, Alan Hayes, has revealed that he put a proposal to a Bradford College official to take over Bridge House as a learning centre. The idea was rejected by the college. Bridge House student and former Ilkley Parish Council chairman Dave Roberts approached the parish council on Monday seeking the support of councillors in demanding answers about the impending closure.
Around 60 students turned up at a meeting called by the college last week, but Mr Roberts says they were not satisfied with the explanations given by Bradford College, formerly Bradford and Ilkley Community College, They have written to the college’s executive director, Andy Welsh, asking why Burley Grange, originally gifted to the community, was sold knowing that Bridge House’s lease would expire in May 2010. They are also asking how long the college has been seeking alternative accommo-dation to provide its courses, as it says it plans to do. The students also called for answers about the college’s rights as a tenant of Bridge House. Coun Kate Brown said she had not been formally told of the closure despite being nominated to liase between the council and college. She hopes to attend the meeting between college officials and students. Talks are also believed to be going on between Bradford Council and Bradford College, as the search goes on for alter-native rooms to rent for providing courses.
Coun Palmer, who represents Wharfedale, said: “It is hard to express in words how let down I and many staff and students feel at this surprise announcement. “I cannot understand why the college has given constant public assurances that Bridge House would remain open, even as they were preparing for closure. We have now lost all guarantee of sustainable adult education provision in our community.” The college confirmed last week that there could be redundancies.
Source – Ilkley Gazette
