After three years of talks, Kendal College has finally completed the purchase of its new campus in the town’s Westmorland Shopping Centre.
The upper floor will become the college’s third campus while the lower floor will combine the college and retail space.
The development will not affect lower mall retail, indoor Market Hall, or car parking.
Work will begin to revamp the centre soon.
The college has occupied parts of the Westmorland Centre since January 2021, with some classes, such as film and game design, already delivered there.
The site will become a fully occupied teaching space for approximately 400 students from September.
It will house a proportion of its 16-18-year-old students studying business, A-levels, early years, games and concept art, and TV/film studies.
The space will also support the college’s community projects, festivals and events, with its first festival, Humanise Festival of Play’, already planned at the Westmorland for early summer.
The college has seen its numbers increase over the past three years from 405 full-time students in 2001 to 1,400 now.
Last year, Kendal College delivered courses to over 4,000 students, comprised of its full-time 16 to 18-year-olds, professional and recreational courses aimed at adults, its apprenticeship offer and a suite of higher education programmes.
Kendal College has worked with Praxis Real Estate Management on the project.
The college has also recently opened a new build construction and engineering centre, installed new hybrid and electrical automotive workshops, and from September, will open a newly refurbished animal rescue centre at its Milnthorpe Road campus.
