Rural community up in arms over Newton Rigg College closure claims Cumbrian peer newsandstar.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from newsandstar.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
THREE former MPs are calling for a Parliamentary inquiry into a controversial decision by a college to close a campus in Cumbria and sell off the site. The three Peers - Dale Campbell-Savours, David Clark and Sue Hayman - want a Defra select committee to examine Askham Bryan College’s actions in closing Newton Rigg in Penrith, which they claim is asset-stripping and will have a major impact on the local community. Askham Bryan took over Newton Rigg from the University of Cumbria in 2011, and it currently has 440 further education students, 96 apprentices and 117 staff. Lord Campbell-Savors, a former long-serving MP for Workington, said almost the entire college’s staff had been given notice of redundancy for later this year but alternative proposals were being worked up by people with a loyalty to Cumbria .
MPs call for inquiry into move by Askham Bryan College to shut campus yorkpress.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from yorkpress.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Two bids to secure a viable future for the Newton Rigg Campus have been unsuccessful. The final element of the Further Education Commissioner (FEC)-led Newton Rigg Strategic Review has concluded that it had been unable to identify an organisation to continue delivering sustainable land based education at the Newton Rigg Campus, and that Askham Bryan College should continue with finding a buyer for the site. The review identified that most provision currently delivered at Newton Rigg can be provided in Cumbria by other post 16 FE providers. In addition, other arrangements to ensure the continuity of land based provision in the area are being developed.
Bids to secure future of Newton Rigg unsuccessful
9 February 2021 |
Askham Bryan College s Newton Rigg campus is now set to close (Photo: Cumbria YFC)
Newton Rigg College is set to close for good after two last-ditch attempts to keep the 125-year-old agriculture college open failed.
The Further Education Commissioner s (FEC) strategic review has concluded that it had been unable to identify an organisation to continue delivering land based education at the site.
The Cumbria-based agri college was already earmarked to close in July 2021 after the present owners confirmed that it would no longer deliver education from the site.
Askham Bryan College said declining student numbers at the Penrith campus had left it with significant financial losses.