Contract awarded for South Wales net zero campus

Bouygues UK has been awarded the contract to build the £119 million Barry Waterfront Campus and the Advanced Technology Centre for Cardiff and Vale College (CAVC).

The campus, which is being built on a brownfield site in the heart of Barry’s Waterfront Innovation Quarter, will be a state-of-the-art further education facility and community college.

Accommodating up to 900 full-time and part-time students, it will offer a wide variety of courses including art and design, care and independent living, as well as hospitality, catering, and hair and beauty therapy.

With active street frontages, the hair and beauty salon and restaurant will be run by students, providing them with ‘real-life’ work experience. The facilities will also be open to public use.

As a prominent net zero carbon in operation development, the new campus is expected to become a long-term sustainable learning environment that will bring substantial community benefits.

Bouygues Project Director Peter Sharpe said: “We are really looking forward to getting started on these exciting and innovative builds.

“Working on education projects is particularly satisfying as you know that they will bring benefits to young people for generations to come and we are looking forward to welcoming thousands of students into these buildings in 2027.”

Cardiff and Vale College Group Chief Executive Mike James said: “We are delighted to take this major step forward in our investment in education and training across the region.

“It is with real pleasure that I can say we are delivering on our commitment to provide first-class teaching and learning environments for learners and the community in the Vale of Glamorgan. The Waterfront Campus and Advanced Technology Centre will also cater to the current and future needs of employers across the Vale and the wider region.”