A new £22.5m Institute of Technology (IoT) in Stafford is to receive a £1m funding boost.

The educational centre is being constructed in the heart of the Stafford Station Gateway regeneration scheme and is expected to attract more than 3,500 students.

Plans for the ‘Station Gateway’ also include a hotel, multi-storey car park, new homes and businesses on disused land behind the town’s railway station.

Work on the IoT got underway earlier this year with the first intake of learners due in September 2025. And now Stafford Borough Council will be handing over £1m - they secured from the government - to back the project.

The money has come from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) and is part of the government’s Levelling Up agenda.

Principal and Chief Executive of Newcastle and Stafford Colleges Group, the lead institution behind the Institute of Technology, Craig Hodgson, thanked the council for supporting their vision and ‘helping turn it into a reality.’

The borough council was awarded one of the largest pots of money in the country from the ‘UKSPF’ - and has successfully put forward schemes to help regeneration, climate change and culture.

The Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire IoT will be located off the town’s Castle Street and specialises in higher level technical programmes bringing together the training offer of Newcastle and Stafford Colleges Group in collaboration with Keele University, Burton and South Derbyshire College and Axia Solutions, with curriculum influenced by key employer partners including; Dell, Hitachi, MOOG, Siemens and St Modwen Logistics.

Leader of the council, Aidan Godfrey, said the IoT was another example of the huge amount of investment coming into the town.

“This will be a fantastic facility and forms an integral part of our ambitious Station Gateway regeneration scheme. The Institute of Technology will bring many benefits to the county town - by not only attracting new students, who will be able to enjoy an innovative learning environment with first class facilities, but also for our local economy.”

He added: “We are seeing significant investment in Stafford which demonstrates the confidence the government and investors have in our ability to deliver on our ambitions.

“This is all part of our ‘Project Stafford’ and, this year and next, people will see more of the plans taking shape on the journey to have a town we can be proud of.”

The borough council purchased the Guildhall Shopping Centre which was in danger of being mothballed with very few businesses inside the premises still trading - and is buying the former Co-op Department Store on the high street which has been empty for more than a decade with proposals to create a food court, retail, market and residential offer.

Late last year the Government backed the borough council’s £20m funding bid to help bring their vision for the ‘Station Gateway’ scheme a step closer.

Institutes of Technology are a £300M government backed investment designed to significantly increase the number of learners participating in higher technical education and provide the skills that businesses need both now and, in the future, to support regional and national productivity.

Mr Hodgson, added: “Collaboration sits at the heart of the strategy for Institutes of Technology, and the partnership working to bring this fantastic facility to the heart of the exciting Stafford Gateway project has been nothing short of exceptional.

“We thank Stafford Borough Council for supporting our vision, and for helping us to turn it in to a reality - we can’t wait to welcome learners through our doors in 2025.”

More information about the transformation taking place in Stafford at www.staffordbc.gov.uk/transforming-stafford

Press Release No 6124