Coleg Cambria has been given more than £5.9 million from the Welsh government’s Sustainable Communities for Learning Programme to transform its land-based campus at Llysfasi, near Ruthin.
The college will also be contributing more than £3 million of its own funding to bring the total amount of funds to around £10 million.
The college has said that it will use the new art complex to “guide and educate the farming sector and local community toward innovative agricultural practices”.
Professor Tim Wheeler, the chair of governors at Coleg Cambria, said the college’s vision will help advance the landscape of agriculture in the northeast Wales region and beyond for generations to come.
“The college is making a major investment in its Llysfasi campus to ensure the education and training in agriculture and land-based courses it offers reflects a forward-looking perspective as the industry evolves to meet the challenges of becoming carbon neutral,” he said.
“Students will enjoy outstanding facilities in a major building that itself will be carbon neutral.
“They will receive a first-rate experience that will prepare them for a range of careers in the land-based economy, and that in turn will create a centre of excellence to support local farming.
“The overall investment of around £10m will ensure the long-term, sustainable future of the campus and we are excited to see these plans come to fruition.”
New proposals
Coleg Cambria said detailed proposals for the investment include vibrant, new classroom and meeting spaces; a machine workshop; a job shop; landscaping; an forest walks.
There will also be bilingual information events, it said, and advice sessions to mentor local farmers looking to diversify and develop their own commercial processes.
Head of the college’s Llysfair site, Elin Roberts, said the college will provide further promotion of the Welsh language with a firm focus of marrying academic, agricultural and social opportunities for learners and the community.
“We are in the heart of the Vale of Clwyd but Cambria’s impact travels far further than that,” she said.
“This development is a game changer not only for farming but for land-based education, creating opportunities for students but also supporting the sector as it moves toward innovative, technological and sustainable systems and embraces new methods.
“We are delighted to see work is underway and are laying the foundations for future generations of our learners.”
