Associated Architects in conjunction with Bouygues-owned Thomas Vale Construction have drawn up detailed designs for the West Midlands Construction UTC project after winning a design competition.

The University of Wolverhampton is sponsoring the new UTC along with the Construction Industry Training Board and also plans to relocate its own School of Architecture and the Built Environment there.

The proximity of the two establishments will develop a unique construction campus with enhanced opportunities for UTC and university students.

An agreement to buy the 12-acre plot, which has been vacant since 1991 when the Mitchells and Butler brewery closed, has been reached and will be finalised once planning permission has been granted.

The West Midlands Construction College has the strong backing of Wolverhampton City Council and over 60 construction companies in the region, including Willmott Dixon, Morgan Sindall, Lovell Partnerships, Hewden, Redrow, Carillion, Barhale Construction and Balfour Beatty.

As part of the scheme, the famous M&B Springfield Brewery entrance arch, gatehouses and gates on Cambridge Street have been earmarked as the college’s main entrance.

The existing grade two-listed building will undergo sympathetic repair and refurbishment while a new three-storey college building is also developed at the historic site.

The project is due to open in 2016 and will then offer 600 construction students places. It will provide an education with a focus on construction and the application of IT in the built environment alongside core GCSEs and A Levels.

Upon graduating, students will then have the option of going into construction related higher education, apprenticeships, or into employment.