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Plans revealed for Liverpool
International College new 'live/learn' development
PROPOSALS for a new 'live/learn'
facility for Liverpool International College (LIC) fronting onto Grove Street
have been revealed, on 18 October 2016, as part of the formal public consultation
process.
The plans detail a purpose built development that will include:- 45,000 sq ft of
modern teaching and learning space and 260 beds in the new Knowledge Quarter
where Grove Street intersects Smithdown Lane. Operated through a partnership
between Kaplan and the University of Liverpool, LIC recruits and prepares more
than 800 international students for entry into the University's degree
programmes each year with courses in academic skills, key subject knowledge and
English language. Liverpool is 1 of the most desirable Cities in the UK for
international students and demand for places at the University of Liverpool is
increasing year on year.
Knowledge Quarter Liverpool is a 450 acre urban innovation district and is home
to some of the world's most influential players in science, health, technology,
education, music and the creative and performing arts. With over £1bn of new
developments currently underway and a further £1bn in the pipeline, it plans to
increase the City's employment figures, improve graduate retention and
attraction rates and establish Liverpool at the forefront of the Northern
Powerhouse.
The new facility will:-
► Deliver 45,000 sq ft on 12 storeys of cutting edge academic, residential and
administrative space with an impressive 3 storey atrium.
► Provide a home away from home for the
international students with 260 beds in larger single bedrooms, in a mix of
cluster and studio apartments, all en-suite, with enhanced storage.
► House a café, Knowledge Hub, study booths, and
social area with game and study zones with expanded opening hours to suit
students' varied schedules.
► Provide 24/7 surveillance from reception.
► Offer access to University facilities
including libraries, IT suites and sports facilities.
► Act as a gateway to the University of
Liverpool campus with its frontage onto Grove Street.
► Enhance the new Knowledge Quarter with the
first landmark building for Paddington Place, the site of the old Archbishop
Blanche School, at the top of Brownlow Hill.
► Have fantastic views across the
City of
Liverpool, up the Mersey out to the Irish Sea and across the Cheshire Plain to
the Welsh Hills open in 2019.
Leelee Yates, director of LIC, said:-
"We are currently located in the University's Sir Alistair Pilkington Building
in Mulberry Street. With the College growing and requiring more space and the
University needing to increase its use of the building, this was the right time
for us to develop our own purpose built facility. Students are increasingly
demanding when it comes to student experience, and this new facility will allow
us to continue to attract the very best students from around the world to the
City.
International students bring a great deal to the City of Liverpool, economically
and culturally. Since LIC opened in 2007, we have consistently attracted more
and more talented young people from around the world; last academic year, our
students accounted for nearly 50 per cent of the University's international
recruitment into first year undergraduate programmes, which shows just how
important the college is."
University of Liverpool Vice-Chancellor, Professor Janet Beer, said:- "The
University has partnered with Kaplan since 2007 to prepare international
students for both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. The new development
will ensure Liverpool International College is able to offer the high level of
student experience necessary to compete for the best students from around the
world. It is ideally situated at the gateway to the University campus enabling
convenient access to University facilities including the library, sports centre
and support facilities."
Joe Anderson, Mayor of Liverpool, said:- "I'm delighted that Kaplan
International is investing in Paddington Village. This is exactly the type of
scheme and collaboration that will ensure Paddington Village establishes itself
as a world leading hub for innovation. With The Royal College of Physicians
already on board and more deals in the pipeline, this is another huge vote of
confidence in Liverpool's Knowledge Quarter.''
Colin Sinclair, chief executive of KQ Liverpool, said:- "International
students are part of the fabric which has established Liverpool as one of the
UK's leading university Cities and the expansion of Liverpool International
College should help to safeguard and develop the numbers that study here. The
level of investment being made by Kaplan in partnership with the University of
Liverpool into a purpose-built facility at Paddington Village reinforces the
pivotal role that education, along with science, healthcare and culture, will
play in the future of the Knowledge Quarter."
Nigel Jones, Head of Estates and Construction for Kaplan International, said:-
"This exciting new multi million pound development will kick start the
rejuvenation of the site of a demolished former school and be the first landmark
building for the Paddington Place Development within the new Knowledge Quarter."
A public consultation exhibition is being held at the Foresight Centre to view
the plans on 18 October 2016, from 4pm to 7pm. The project team will be on hand to answer
any questions and visitors can provide feedback via questionnaires on the day.
This public consultation is the final stage before a planning application is
submitted for the proposed new facility next month. |
