THE first stone of a £6.5m college in Consett was laid yesterday.
The Lord Lieutenant of Durham, Sir Paul Nicholson, got his hands dirty to lay the first stone of a five-acre Derwentside College campus complex.
The development on the site of the town's former steelworks, now the Project Genesis regeneration site, will include a science block, leisure complex, learning resource centre, refectory, classrooms and car park.
The new college received planning permission last April.
Money has come from the Government's Further Education Funding Council and the college itself.
Speaking at yesterday's ceremony, college principal David Houpt said: "This is good news for the college and good news for the region, bringing much-needed investment into Derwentside.
"Hopefully, other investors will see the benefits we have gained and join us in Genesis."
Derwentside College employs about 300 staff and has 900 full-time and 9,000 part-time students on its roll
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