THE GOVERNMENT has been accused of betraying Hampshire students after threatening to pull the plug on college redevelopment schemes costing more than £160m.
It has suspended a national funding scheme that aimed to provide campuses across the country with new state-of-the- art facilities.
The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) has approved just eight projects – none of which is in Hampshire – after receiving too many applications.
Another 144 schemes, including five in the Southampton and south Hampshire area, have been put on hold pending a review to decide their fate.
They include the fourth and final phase of a £48m plan to redevelop Southampton City College.
The move has angered campuses that have spent massive sums preparing redevelopment schemes after being encouraged to apply for LSC funding.
Totton College, Brockenhurst College and Taunton’s College in Southampton want to flatten their existing sites and rebuild them from scratch. Itchen College hopes to abandon its present campus in Sholing and move to a new location in Thornhill. But the far-reaching schemes could be left in ruins if cash continues to be withheld.
Brockenhurst councillor Maureen Holding said: “The Government raised expectations, got us to spend thousands on planning applications, put in hours of work, and in the end – nothing.
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