Council will 'fight' for college

FEARS have been expressed that Larne College could be sold to make way for another supermarket in the town.

As reported in the Times, the Larne campus of Northern Regional College will shut the local campus next summer, unless a solution can be found to tackle the plummeting enrolment numbers. NRC intends to relocate its services to other sites as part of a series of proposed reforms across Northern Ireland.

And at the latest meeting of Larne council, members reiterated their opposition to the plans and vowed “not to give up without a fight”.

Ald Danny O’Connor said: “There seems to be land grabs going on in Larne at the moment for supermarkets, and I fear that the college could also be sold to make way for another supermarket.

“Further education in Larne is very important and I would hate to see this building lost, but it seems that a decision has already been made. It is up to us as elected representatives to salvage something from this disastrous proposal.”

A report to members from NRC said that the building was “fit for purpose and in good condition”. It added that sub-leasing the building, or adopting a “shared space strategy” could be “financially viable”.

However, Larne council has accused NRC of not being fully on board with finding a solution to keep the campus open. The council’s written response said: “It is disappointing to note that, with the first phase of the withdrawal planned for September 2010, and the limited consultation period of eight weeks, the college does not appear to be serious in truly engaging with stakeholders and perhaps finding a solution that would not mean the closure of Larne campus.” The council has also asked for clarification as to why the college has not investigated changing the curriculum to reflect local demand. And it wants the Larne campus to be given “special consideration” due to the college’s “different social make-up”.

It added: “The council appreciates that the student body at the Larne campus is small, but also notes that it provides education to people who otherwise would not be able to access it at other locations. As services continue to be removed from Larne, it is the people of the borough who suffer through the increased burden on finances and time incurred through additional travel requirements.”

The council claimed that about 13 per cent of students at the Larne campus are aged 60 or more – almost three times higher than the average proportion of over 60s across all campuses. “This age group may find access to other locations difficult,” the council added.

It was also stated that almost 70 per cent of students at the campus are female and may have caring responsibilities that “could impact their ability to access education at a different location”.

Ald Jack McKee said the council should not give up on the college without a fight and added: “I would like to see the college retained. Over the years, it has provided many good courses and helped many people go on to university or straight into work.”

Larne mayor Andy Wilson said he was be happy to lead a council delegation to lobby the minister to keep the campus open.