More than 300 attend public exhibition for Oaklands College redevelopment

Oaklands College and leading housebuilder Taylor Wimpey have thanked local people for taking part in a public consultation event for the proposed redevelopment of the College’s St Alban’s campus.

An exhibition held from Thursday 28th February to Saturday 2nd March was attended by more than 300 local residents, councillors, students and other interested parties, with many visitors taking the opportunity to have their say on the much-needed redevelopment scheme.

Feedback received during the consultation will now be used to help progress the joint Taylor Wimpey and Oaklands College proposals before a second public consultation event is held in the spring.

Zoe Hancock, Principal at Oaklands College, says: “We were really pleased with the turnout at last weekend’s public consultation. It was great to be able to talk to people about what we are trying to achieve with this project – and why it is so important for both the College and the wider community.

“I’d like to thank everyone who came along and participated in the consultation, and we hope people appreciated the opportunity to find out more about these vital redevelopment plans.”

During the public consultation, visitors were able to view concept plans for the redevelopment of Oaklands College’s St Albans campus, where a number of buildings are currently in urgent need of updating and modernisation.

In order to secure the investment required to complete this vital project, the College has made some of its land available for residential development – and the consultation also saw Taylor Wimpey outline its emerging plans for up to 350 new sustainable homes on land to the south of Sandpit Lane.

Bill Beyzade, Regional Land and Planning Director for Taylor Wimpey, adds: “The purpose of our public consultation was to give local residents, businesses, community groups and other stakeholders the chance to influence our proposals, and help us ensure that our residential development scheme progresses in line with the priorities and aspirations of the local community.

“We are pleased that so many people took the opportunity to take part in this important process, and the comments we received during the course of the consultation will play a vital role in shaping our emerging development plans.”

All the information displayed at the weekend’s public consultation event is also available online at oaklandsredevelopment.co.uk. Those wishing to comment on the joint Taylor Wimpey and Oaklands College redevelopment proposals have until Friday 15th March to provide their feedback, and can do so via the website.