Wates, Norwest Holst and HBG chase £70m Surrey tech college

Three Shortlisted firms are swotting up for a high-profile education-sector deal in Surrey. The Brooklands Technical College scheme, which weighs in at £70m, has attracted the attention of Wates, Norwest Holst and HBG.

The job involves the substantial redevelopment of both of the college's campuses - at Weybridge and at Ashford - and like nearly all projects of this kind, the Brooklands deal will go down the design and build, two-stage tender route.

Sources say it is odds-on that a single firm will take all the work on both campuses, but there is a remote possibility that the contract could be shared between two contractors.

The centrepiece of the scheme is the remodelling of the Tower Building to form a five-storey observatory complex.

The new-build aspects of the project will span 13,812m2 and as well as new teaching space, a three-storey pavilion will be built.

The college's Grade II-listed Mansion House will undergo a facelift, with recent additions to the building removed and the restoration of the original courtyard.

There will also be a significant amount of demolition work on the sites, but recently constructed buildings such as the Art and Engineering buildings and the sports hall, which the college sees as "fit for purpose", will be retained.

Landscaping will also form a significant element of the scheme, with outdoor learning areas being built and fitness trails and lawns created.

And the approaches and entrances to all the college's buildings will be reconfigured.

The plan is for the revamp work to start on site in August and be phased over four years to minimise disruption to the day-to-day running of the college.