Campus sale paves way for new pounds 26m college.

Byline: By Nigel Stirling

Gva Lamb and Edge is acting for Redcar and Cleveland College in the sale of its Redcar Lane Campus, which will help to fund a pounds 26m purpose-built new college at Corporation Road.

Redcar and Cleveland College is amalgamating the existing campuses on Redcar Lane and Corporation Road to the new college building on Corporation Road when it is completed in 2008.

The team advising the College including Tribal Group, GVA Lamb and Edge, Llewelyn Davies Yeang and Eversheds has just completed the sale of the Redcar Lane site to McInerney Homes North East.

The site extends to just over 10 acres part of which is vacant and part of which houses the former Redcar Lane Campus. The site is being sold with the benefit of planning permission for residential use.

Mark McKelvey led the team from GVA Lamb and Edge. He said: "We were delighted to assist the college in achieving best value on the Redcar Lane site and to help the college to provide new facilities where the highest quality level of further education will continue to be provided.

"The development of Redcar Lane has to be phased to allow Redcar College students to continue studying at the site until the new college at Corporation Road is ready to move into in 2008.

"There are two separate areas to the site that have been bought by McInerney Homes. Work will begin on the vacant site first before moving on to the campus and car park in 2008."

Redcar Lane campus is located to the east of Redcar Racecourse in a prime residential area of Redcar.

McInerney Homes, which recently took over Bowey Homes, is delighted with the prospect of building at this central site.

Gordon Metcalf of McInerney Homes said: "We will be developing attractive family homes which make the most of the green space around the site. "This is a superbly situated, large area which gives us a strong presence in the south of the region, complementing our new build and refurbished schemes in County Durham and Teesside."

Gary Groom, Redcar and Cleveland College principal said: "These are exciting times for the college.

"Our new premises at Corporation Road will bring spectacular new facilities for our students. The sale of the Redcar Lane Campus was an important milestone in allowing our plans to drive forward.

"We were ably assisted by a highly professional team whose relevant expertise helped us negotiate the best deal and which enables us to improve our facilities and the high quality level of further education we provide."

Tribal Group is project manager of the scheme. Redcar and Cleveland College was advised by Eversheds solicitors, Llewelyn Davies Yeang planning consultants and GVA Lamb & Edge Chartered Surveyors.