ANGER has erupted at plans to close a popular facility at Keighley College.

Bosses at the Bradford Road campus have confirmed they propose to shut the STAR Centre, plus the adjoining Fab Lab. A 30-day consultation is underway.

The centre developed a high-profile reputation and received a visit from then business and skills minister Matthew Hancock, who posed for a picture trying a little cricket on the 'Mars landscape' in the facility.

The college says the closure – which would potentially affect two jobs – would pave the way for a new, higher-education offering.

But Ray Barber, who set-up the original STAR Centre at the college’s former Chesham Street site and oversaw its relocation to the new campus in 2010, says he is “deeply concerned” at the proposed closure.

“Keighley is fortunate to have this state-of-the-art teaching and learning environment for the promotion of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)-based subjects,” he said.

“Over the years, the resource has inspired thousands of schoolchildren into STEM activities, using space as a vehicle.

“The college recently received a good Ofsted report and was awarded ‘outstanding’ for its facilities, with the STAR Centre earning a particular mention."

The STAR Centre includes a mission control, transit pod – which simulates space travel – a space laboratory and a mock Mars landscape.

Fab Lab, a cutting-edge design and advanced manufacturing facility, was incorporated into the campus – part of Leeds City College – in 2014.

Keighley MP John Grogan is calling on the college to consult more widely over the plan, and not “keep it as an internal process and try to sneak it through without anybody noticing”.

Worth Valley district councillor Russell Brown, said the STAR Centre had been providing a “mesmerising” educational experience for young people for many years.

But Heather Whitehead, director of curriculum at Keighley College, said there was growing demand for higher education provision.

“The needs of the local community are at the forefront of our curriculum offer,” she added. "The closure of the STAR Centre would mean that we’d be able to invest in a new higher education provision from the next academic year, offering degrees in engineering, health and education. This new offer would equip students with the skills they need to meet the workforce demands of the future.”