Construction underway for Skegness further education college on a 200-hectare, multi-purpose development which will also has plans for 1,000 houses
East Lindsey District Council’s grand vision for the Skegness Gateway, a multi-purpose development on some 200 hectares of land west of the town, has seen construction get underway for a new further education college on the site.
The Skegness Gateway masterplan includes building 1,000 new homes, some 41,000 square metres of commercial space, tourism accommodation, a crematorium, a primary school, a local retail centre with shops, pubs and restaurants, and 4,000 sq m of storage space.
It also has plans for a new further and higher education college campus, which received standalone planning permission from East Lindsey District Council last year.
Supported by some £14 million of government funding through the Connected Coast Town Deal, the Skegness TEC (Training, Education and Careers) will be constructed by contractors Hobson and Porter — with works already underway.
The purpose-built campus will provide further education courses in a range of subjects, from construction and engineering to hospitality and tourism.
It will also provide employment opportunities to the local area, and aims to help over 1,000 local residents into employment over the coming years, to support local economic growth.
Ann Hardy, CEO of TEC Partnership, commented: “The new learning campus will bring with it a broad curriculum and new opportunities for the community of Skegness.”
It is a pivotal moment for the wider Skegness Gateway development, with East Lindsey District Council set to discuss the introduction of a Local Development Order (LDO) for the project at its Executive Board meeting next week.
This comes after years of work to establish a “genuine proposition” for an LDO, which has taken “considerable time, effort and investment.”
Residents expressed concerns around road infrastructure during consultation, given the width of the A52 and the potential for bottlenecks as traffic increases around the area.
However, the proposals for new homes and employment opportunities were supported.
A Local Development Order is a blanket granting of planning permission by the local authority, removing the need for the submission of planning applications for developments identified within it.
This is why the Skegness TEC is able to commence with construction at this time.
The first LDO was submitted in November 2022 and sent out to consultation, where a revised suite of documents emerged after feedback from residents and associated authorities.
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These revised documents were submitted in December 2023, prompting further consultation and more “minor revisions” in a “final attempt to address concerns.”
If it goes ahead, the LDO will be time limited for 10 years and reviewed after five, to allow for any amendments or revoking of the order if necessary.
The land on which this project is set to happen is owned by local family business Croftmarsh, who have worked in the Lincolnshire town for generations.
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Sue Bowser of Croftmarsh, said: “Skegness TEC is transformative for the town, giving our young people the chance to learn and develop new skills without having to travel outside of the area, as well as being hugely encouraging for local employers taking on our next generation of workers.
“Having the new campus as part of the wider Skegness Gateway site is an exciting proposition, and we look forward to watching the facility grow with the town over the coming years.”
East Lindsey District Council’s Executive has been recommended to formally adopt the Local Development Order for the Skegness Gateway.
