We are delighted to see the results of the refurbishment of the Morley College North Kensington campus. This project has created a fantastic facility that will be enjoyed by students, staff, and the local community both now and in the future. The new façade presents an open and welcoming glass-fronted café and reception area, while a large multi-use community hall will welcome residents for sports and drama activities.

Refurbished classrooms (including a science lab, computer rooms and art studios), an enterprise hub, digital gaming suite, and interfacing soundproofed radio studios will help the college to deliver its expansive range of courses, generating vital income at a campus that supports the inspiring local community that rallied for it.  

More about this project

The former Kensington and Chelsea College on Wornington Road was at the heart of the community impacted by the Grenfell Tower tragedy but the college’s future was uncertain. The local community, spearheaded by campaign groups ‘Grenfell United’, ‘Friends of Grenfell’ and ‘Save Wornington Road Campus’ came together to ensure the area would not lose its vital further education (FE) provision; in particular, a campus supporting the needs of local people, including disadvantaged learners.  

Since November 2018, LocatED and the Department for Education (DfE) have worked closely with cross-government teams, FE providers and the local community to find viable options for the site. This resulted in an agreement that the DfE should acquire the freehold interest of the site, granting a lease to high-performing FE provider, Morley College London.  

On behalf of the DfE, we completed the complex acquisition and secured planning permission for the required refurbishment and construction. The London & South-East Territorial Team and LocatED worked closely with the local community and the college to develop a refurbishment package for a campus which brings improvements to the college’s education delivery while supporting the community.  

Our Technical & Planning Team oversaw the delivery of the full contracted works with Morgan Sindall and Mace. This was completed in phases while the college remained on site, so effective stakeholder engagement has been critical to ensuring that teaching can continue both safely and effectively. In April 2022, the sectional completion of the second and third floors of the site was achieved, and the college moved up from the ground and first floors into new classrooms. On 28 October 2022, the refurbishment of the ground and first floors was completed.  

This project is a true exemplar of successful cross-government collaboration with an extensive range of external stakeholders; this was recognised with a Judge’s Choice Award at the Government Property Awards 2022.   

Images by John Kees, kindly provided by Morgan Sindall