Award-winning construction and property consultancy, Summers-Inman, has been appointed at Middlesbrough College to a state-of-the-art £10m Engineering facility that will both enhance student experience and support Teesside in its green energy aims.
Summers-Inman has been appointed following a successful tender win to the proposed state-of-the-art building and will provide Project Management, Quantity Surveying and Principal Designer services to relocate TTE, a leading provider of technical training to the oil and gas, process, manufacturing and engineering sector- which was acquired by Middlesbrough College in 2019.
Lead Consultant for the proposed development is Newcastle-based architects, NORR who will provide the full design team consultancy.
Summers-Inman has already been involved in several specialist education facilities in the area which include National Horizons Centre and the Net Zero Innovation Centre.
The building will relocate TTE workshop training areas, teaching classrooms and staff facilities to a purpose-built facility as part of an ongoing programme of refurbishment to the newly extended STEM centre which is adjacent to the proposed site, allowing for shared facilities and equipment.
Middlesbrough College Group is the largest engineering training provider for school leavers in the country. The new facility will train 300 full time students, 300 apprentices, 500 adults and an international cohort. The building has been designed to futureproof emerging skills, particularly around green energy and will also include several sustainable features such as PV panels, air source heat pumps and rainwater harvesting.
The site is also only metres away from Teesworks, the UK’s largest and most connected industrial zone and home to diverse, sustainable and low-carbon activity. Teesworks has recently been awarded Freeport status and is earmarked for significant inward investment in areas such as advanced manufacturing, green energy, logistics, health and chemical, which are all specialist sectors of the proposed Engineering Workshop.
Zoe Lewis, Principal and Chief Executive at Middlesbrough College, said:
“We are delighted to be working with Summers-Inman who are on the NHS SBS framework and won the tender on both a cost and quality basis. Getting work underway on this project is an exciting prospect for us and we know Summers-Inman has exactly the right kind of experience, gained when working on other fantastic schemes in the region. The new purpose-built site at Middlehaven is a massive investment into the future of our business and others. It will allow TTE to provide apprentices for decades to come, with the right industrial skills and behaviours to easily transition into the workplace. We’re proud to be part of this transformation.”
The project will be supported by a £1m contribution from Middlesbrough Council, with the remaining £5m invested by Middlesbrough College. The College aims to open the new TTE centre in the next two years, subject to planning approval.
Speaking of the plans, Andrew Rapmund, associate director of Summers-Inman, said:
“We are delighted to be a part of the winning tender as it would be great to work on such an exciting project for the region. We have extensive experience of working on similar projects and this is another great example of Teesside’s commitment to investment in skills and training in the region. It is fantastic that we continue to work in such an innovative and ambitious area and hopefully the project will get the go-ahead soon.”
Robin Stewart, director of Architects, NORR said:
“This is a fantastic new building and continues both our previous relationship with Middlesbrough College and a long list of engaging and cutting-edge Engineering and STEM buildings in the region, many of which have been delivered in partnership with Summers-Inman.”
Tees Valley Combined Authority has an industrial strategy to create 25,000 jobs in the next ten years in these key sectors, which it is hoped the Engineering Workshop will help support with training.
