Suffolk New College to build £2m health and care centre

A new health and care facility is to be built at a college after it was given government funding of £1.1m.

Permission for the £2m centre at Suffolk New College, in Ipswich, was granted last month.

The government grant was topped up with the college's own funding.

The centre will include a nursery, a three-bed hospital ward, occupational therapy space and classrooms, to provide students with areas that could replicate their future workplaces.

The college was one of 39 sixth forms and colleges nationwide to have secured a share of the government's £83m Post-16 Capacity Fund, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The new four-storey centre will be built on the current moped parking area on the corner of Rope Walk and Dove Street.

Viv Gillespie, the college's principal, said: "This project represents another major step forward for us.

"It's a really exciting opportunity to provide specialist facilities primarily in health, care and science areas to support young people living in Ipswich and beyond."

Ipswich's Conservative MP, Tom Hunt, said he had pressed for the college to get backing, as it was a key driver in providing skills for young people.

"Education is a key part of levelling up," he said.

"Providing high-quality education for sixth form and college students is essential if we want to see local people take higher paying jobs."

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