The UK's Department of Education (DfE) has submitted planning permission to Northumberland County Council to build a new college campus for Northumberland College in Ashington, UK.

Under the DfE Construction Framework, Bowmer + Kirkland has been appointed as the design-and-build contractor, and Bond Bryan as the architect.

This new campus will feature advanced academic and technological facilities that are in line with industry and regional skill requirements. It is expected to offer economic and educational advantages to Northumberland County and the surrounding regions.

The plan submitted for this site, which has an hourglass shape, includes three buildings that will feature structural designs that boost sustainability, leverage renewable technologies, and connect with nature.

An additional building will comprise facilities offering a curriculum that covers hospital, health, childcare, and employability, among others.

The campus will also have a centre for young people who have special educational needs.

Among the extensive on-site amenities include a centre with dining space, a learning and skills area, specialist labs, as well as learning environments.

Northumberland College is an affiliate of Education Partnership North East, the region’s major education provider.

Situated on a 5.7-acre site on the eastern edge of Ashington’s Wansbeck Business Park, the campus is said to be one of the DfE’s new generation of government-led educational institutions, with innovative concepts, design standards, and sustainability in its construction and management.

The campus will be developed with biophilic principles, a construction concept utilised to promote occupant connectivity to the natural environment.