July 24, 2018 2.49 pm This story is over 68 months old

Engineer training centre gets go-ahead

The new manufacturing and engineering centre will open next year.

Councillors have given the green light to a new Engineering, Manufacturing and Training (EMAT) Centre in Boston.

Boston College’s proposals appeared before Boston Borough Council’s planning committee on Tuesday.

The two-storey site will provide ‘purpose-built accommodation for advanced technical skills training in manufacturing, engineering and technology’.

It will be built on the corner of an existing car park opposite the Boston Conference and Management Centre on Skirbeck Road.

It will cater to approximately 150 students.

A visual of the proposed EMAT centre.

Councillor and council leader Michael Cooper said: “We need engineers, this is an excellent proposal. Every employer I speak to says we need engineers.”

Councillor Sue Ransome said: “I think this is an excellent application. It’s just what Boston needs.”

Councillor Jonathan Noble called the design ‘innovative’ and ‘attractive’.

No objections have been received from the statutory consultees, with only a few comments made.

One of the visual interpretations of the new centre.

No-one from the college was available to speak to at the meeting, however, a statement following the meeting said the building would provide ‘outstanding engineering facilities for students and an industry-driven training facility that will stimulate growth and productivity across the sector’.

The college said the centre would act as a ‘hub’ for local engineering, manufacturing and agri-tech businesses to create a partnership with the College to help train the engineers of the future.

Programme Area Manager for Engineering, Ashok Kumar, said in the statement: “There are exciting times ahead for Boston College learners, as we continue to work with local and national employers whilst being able to provide cutting edge technology at this proposed new centre.”

The new centre is hoped to open by September 2019.