New Future for Clifden Site

Richmond Adult Community College (RACC) announce the decision to sell and transfer the ownership of the Clifden site in Twickenham  into Council ownership for educational use as a school. With the proceeds from the sale of the site the college plans to re-invest the funding in developing a state of the art extended Richmond site at Parkshot incorporating a major refurbishment of the old Parkshot building, an expansion of the Richmond Business School, a new build Richmond Art School and up-to-date facilities for Learners with Learning Difficulties and Disabilities. This will ensure that the College has buildings and facilities that are efficient to run and meet the changing needs and high expectations of adult learners.

Christina Conroy OBE , Principal & Chief Executive of Richmond Adult Community College states that: “Our success has come from focusing on what we are good at which is a broad range of adult learning for those seeking employability, personal fulfilment and enterprise. We have been continuously been rated Outstanding by OFSTED and gained national recognition for the quality of our work. These achievements are set against 40% cuts in Government funding since 2005 reducing the College’s turnover from £12 million down to £7 million. Whilst the College has successfully generated nearly 30% of its funding from fees and other charges the continued challenge of reduced government funding needs to be taken into account in planning the college’s future. 

We are deeply concerned about how funding will be moved away from our target groups over the next few years. However the Governing Body is agreed that our priority is to preserve the adult mission and continue to deliver an outstanding learning service to the borough.  Our vision is to create an Adult Learning Hub on an extended Richmond Site to ensure that we can preserve the adult learning mission whatever the funding scenario.

In relation to efficiency the costs of running two sites at Clifden (Twickenham) and Parkshot (Richmond) both with old school buildings to maintain is a real stretch. The Clifden site was the focus of a major capital application in 2008 to the Learning and Skills Council which proved unsuccessful as a result of major difficulties nationally with funding college capital projects. The failure of the capital project left the College with a bill for £800k and a site in need of serious redevelopment to address roof leaks, energy consumption, site security, time expired outbuildings and accessibility as it comprises 11 different levels over three floors. In the light of this the College has had no option but to undertake some restoration over the last two years with new energy efficient boilers, new roof, refurbished windows, improved landscaping and site security. However more investment needs to be done if we are to position ourselves effectively as a leading edge adult skills provider which is far beyond what the College can afford and there is no likelihood of further significant Government capital grants.

In an ideal world we would like to retain the Clifden site but we recognise that our adult learning service takes priority and it is better to put our resources into teaching and learning rather than maintenance costs. Ensuring that Clifden is retained for educational use makes good use of the site and provides good public value. We plan to complete the sale of the Clifden site in 2012 but leaseback until 2014 to enable us to redevelop the facilities at Richmond to accommodate the full range of adult learning provision. This will give us enough time to ensure a smooth transition into the new space whilst ensuring continuity of service. After 2014 we plan to retain a footprint on the Twickenham side of the river by renting space in Schools, Colleges and community venues so that we continue to effectively serve that side of the borough.”