New £46m Campus Opens in Coleraine

Economy Minister Conor Murphy has officially unveiled Northern Regional College's brand-new £46 million Causeway Campus. The state-of-the-art facility, located in Coleraine, is already welcoming students and has seen a surge in interest, with full-time enrolments up by 15% for the current academic year.

Boasting cutting-edge learning and training facilities, the Causeway Campus is expected to benefit thousands of students and the wider community. Minister Murphy highlighted the importance of such investments in education and skills development for Northern Ireland's economic growth.

Speaking at the official opening of the new Causeway Campus, Economy Minister Conor Murphy said: "I am delighted to officially open this highly anticipated new campus for Northern Regional College, which represents a significant investment by my Department.

"The new campus has already become an important landmark in Coleraine. Integrated with its neighbouring community, and designed with students and industry partners in mind, the facility provides a comfortable and vibrant place to learn and innovate.

"It makes use of the latest technologies and is designed to be agile, in response to the emerging needs of innovative businesses now, and in the future.

"So, this is an important day, not only for our colleagues here at Northern Regional College, but also for the local community, for the further education sector, and for our economy."

Located on Union Street, the campus consolidates all teaching from the college's former Coleraine and Ballymoney campuses on an expansive 12,600m2 site incorporating a high-spec four-storey new build and a restored listed Victorian building. The new Causeway Campus will be home to over 150 staff and 1,300 students each year, with its purpose-built site offering more than 50 new education and training spaces including laboratories, hair and beauty salons, animal management areas, and a fully equipped television studio and control room. A new training restaurant is also set to open to the public later in the autumn.

The Minister added: "The design and construction of this campus has made a significant social contribution locally. More than 2,500 weeks of employment and training have been provided, including through traineeships, apprenticeships and higher level apprenticeships across a range of construction-related trades.

"With this new campus, a new Ballymena Campus for the college under construction, and other significant capital projects across the sector, the future for further education is a positive one."

Northern Regional College Principal and Chief Executive Mel Higgins said: "This is a momentous day for our college as this world-class campus is now open and ready to be enjoyed by Coleraine and wider community.

"With an increase of 15 per cent in full-time learners for the current year, we can already see the positive impact this new campus is set to have on the skills economy and on enabling people to fulfil their career and learning aspirations in the years ahead."

Thanking everyone involved in the creation of the campus, Ken Nelson MBE, Chair of NRC's Governing Body, added: "I would like to acknowledge the support of the Department for the Economy, the College Senior Management Team and staff, fellow governors, all of our project teams, and our contractors Heron Bros Ltd for their dedication to ensuring our new campus delivers an outstanding learning environment.

"Today's official opening of the new Causeway Campus is a triumph of persistence, patience, and partnership and I would like to congratulate everyone involved in bringing this vision for first-class learning to life."