College's proposal for Salts Mill shelved as £15m bid fails (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

College's proposal for Salts Mill shelved as £15m bid fails

3:20pm Tuesday 14th July 2009

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Ambitious plans for a new tourist information centre at Saltaire’s World Heritage Site have been shelved after Shipley College failed in an initial £15 million expansion bid.

The college’s plans to transform the former Salts Mill dining room in Victoria Road into a dedicated centre to promote the UNESCO site have now been delayed, the college’s new principal, Nav Chohan, has confirmed to the Telegraph & Argus.

The plans were part of a wider funding bid to the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), which would have included new college buildings in Shipley and in Bolton Woods or Frizinghall, Bradford. They have now been effectively scrapped because of a funding crisis at the LSC, affecting further education colleges across the country.

Shipley councillor Martin Love said Bradford Council tourism chiefs had failed to look at alternatives to the college proposals for a tourist information centre.

Coun Love (Green) said: “We asked them six months ago what their plan B was and they said they were depending on the college getting funding from central Government.”

Coun Love said Bradford Council continued to argue that the majority of visitors to Saltaire got information via the internet or a phone link from Victoria Hall to Bradford Tourist Information Centre.

But he urged tourism chiefs to investigate other ideas, including a centre at Salts Mill or in empty shops in Saltaire.

Shipley College principal Nav Chohan described the failure of the capital funding bid as “disappointing”, but said there still could be a chance that the college could secure funding.

A Bradford Council spokesman said: “People can get leaflets and use the free phone line in Victoria Hall. In the meantime, we are looking at alternative sites in Saltaire because we know we need a tourist information centre in the World Heritage Site.”

e-mail: marc.meneaud@telegraphandargus.co.uk.

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