New City College Ardleigh Green campus refurb plan submitted

New City College has issued a planning application to Havering Council for the extensive refurbishment of its Ardleigh Green site, involving the demolition of four of its buildings.

While the college held a public exhibition on the proposals as part of its consultation period in November 2024, the application has revealed more about what is planned for each block.

Ardleigh Green is the biggest New City College campus, and four out of its nine buildings are earmarked for partial or full demolition as part of the refurb.

How the Ardleigh Green campus currently looks – A Block at the back is set for partial demolition and C Block to the right will be demolished (Image: New City College) If the plans are approved, the C Block and W Block will both be demolished to open up space at the front and in the centre of the campus.

The Nursery Block – described in the planning statement as a Portacabin that is “no longer fit for purpose” – also faces demolition to allow pedestrian access from the car park into the heart of the campus.

This building closed as a nursery in July 2022, as there was “no demand at all from students”, according to the planning statement.

The hair and beauty area will be moved from the Nursery Block to D Block, which itself will be renovated inside to accommodate the hair and beauty treatments carried out by students on customers.

A CGI of how the campus might look (Image: New City College)

However, the planning statement reveals that the main focus of the refurbishment will be Block A.

The Space, at the back of Block A, is set for demolition, while the remainder of the building will be stripped back to its core and renovated both internally and externally.

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Inside, this will mean Block A gets a new library and learning resource area, a refectory, improved teaching spaces with 19 classrooms, and breakout spaces for students on each floor.

The goal is to open the campus up at the front and centre (Image: New City College)

Under the plans, the A Block will also undergo recladding on the outside and feature a “technologically integrated” fit out.

Ardleigh Green campus deputy principal Jonathan Briggs said: “The redevelopment project will ensure that the college’s buildings and student spaces are designed to house industry-standard equipment and provide flexibility to keep up with meeting local, regional and national skills needs.

“We want to support and grow our local businesses by providing a pipeline of future talent from Ardleigh Green.”