Building specialist Linford Group has started work on the £3 million construction of a new building for Tamworth and Lichfield College's School of Art.
The latest phase in the ongoing development of the college will see a new building erected on the main Friary campus to accommodate the increasing number of students applying to its popular art faculty. With development space at a premium in the city-centre location the new block will be built directly adjacent to existing college buildings, creating a smooth transition between buildings for the students and staff.
David Linford, executive chairman of Linford Group, said: "Just as a busy city centre location presents logistical issues to any building contractor, the restriction on space at the college site creates some technical issues that need to be carefully addressed. In particular, we are very careful to ensure that the impact on surrounding residents is kept to a minimum by restricting construction traffic to specific times of the day."
The new building for Lichfield School of Art represents a considerable investment for Tamworth and Lichfield College and reflects the growing popularity of its courses. It will provide much-needed capacity for the art faculty and free up space in the existing building for additional classrooms. As the School of Art building is finished towards the end of 2005, staff and students will move in, and Linford will begin the refurbishment of the old centre.
Alison Churchill, head of Lichfield School of Art, said: "As Linford has been the main contractor on so much of the building work at the college they understand the restraints of working on a busy campus and keep the day-to-day impact of the construction work on our students to the very minimum."
