Doncaster nears deal for rail college
An education provider is interested in taking over the former National College for Advanced Transport & Infrastructure building, empty since July 2023.
The £26m building on Carolina Way near Lakeside is covered by a covenant running to 2043 stating that it can only be used for post-16 educational purposes.
Conceived as part of the nation’s drive towards increasing high-speed rail coverage, the rail college opened in 2017 aiming to train and upskill engineers, designers and managers.
By 2019, as HS2 hopes wobbled, its brief was widened in becoming NCATI, and it was taken over by the University of Birmingham group in 2021 before being closed last year.
City of Doncaster Council’s cabinet will this week hear full details, which remain confidential at this stage. The incoming occupier is expected to sign a 25-year lease, said the local authority, which owns the site.
Mayor Ros Jones said: “This is really encouraging news that this iconic looking building could continue as an educational centre in Doncaster. The building itself offers such an exciting opportunity for a new education provider to help support our ambitions for lifelong learning and skills.”
The cabinet will study a report asking for authority to finalise lease negotiations and progress the necessary requirements to complete a lease.
Continuing the use of the site in post-16 education would support Doncaster’s ‘Education and Skills 2030’ strategy, the council said.
Doncaster’s cabinet meets on Wednesday.
