Bouygues to build Cardiff & Vale campus facilities

Bouygues UK will deliver both buildings through a single contract under the Welsh government’s mutual investment model (MIM) – the largest project yet delivered through the MIM programme.

The project has been developed by the Welsh Education Partnership Company (WEPCo) and designed by Shephard Robson Architects with Arup providing engineering services.

WEPCo is a joint venture between the Development Bank of Wales (Welsh government) and French investment company Meridiam set up to develop education facilities on behalf of local authorities and further education bodies in Wales.

Work should start on site in June this year, with an expected completion in summer 2027.

Under the MIM, the new college campuses will be maintained and operated for 25 years by Robertson FM.

The Barry Waterfront Campus (BWC) is being built on a brownfield site in Barry’s Waterfront Innovation Quarter.  It will have capacity for 900 full- and part-time students on a variety of courses including art & design, care, hospitality, catering and beauty therapy. A college restaurant and hair & beauty salon on the street front will be open to the public and run by students.

The Advanced Technology Centre (ATC), to be built at Cardiff Airport, will accommodate almost 2,000 students (a mix of full and part time) close to CAVC’s International Centre for Aerospace Training (ICAT). In addition to classrooms and workshops, the building will also have a business centre, an advanced composites manufacturing facility, a robotics and mechatronics labs and a ‘green skills house’.  

The ATC will focus on key growth areas, including artificial intelligence, composites, rapid prototyping, advanced design, electronics and net zero carbon technologies.

 Leading the project for Bouygues UK will be project director Peter Sharpe, who has led Zone 1 of the Pentre Awel business and community health facility in Llanelli for Carmarthenshire Council. Both BWC. 

“Working on education projects is particularly satisfying,” he said, “as you know that they will bring benefits to young people for generations to come and we are looking forward to welcoming thousands of students into these buildings in 2027.”

WEPCo chief executive Christian Stanbury said: “We’re delighted to have reached such an important milestone in the development of such a landmark College project. Having worked alongside Cardiff & Vale College for several years we understand the difference this will make to future generations of learners and the whole college community.”

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