Students at The City of Liverpool College are set to work with social enterprise SAFE Regeneration, on its plans for a £33 million neighbourhood in Bootle.

SAFE Regeneration, a community social enterprise and arts organisation, plans to transform a six-acre area in Bootle next to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.

As part of the partnership, students from across College departments will contribute to the development over the next few years. From construction and leisure tourism, to hospitality, business planning, arts and creativity, digital and graphic design, students will have the opportunity to work on a real life, local project, contributing to Bootle’s regeneration, while gaining valuable work experience, whether through placements with contractors or in local bars and restaurants.

SAFE will benefit from having access to a pool of local talent, who all have a desire and determination to learn and develop their skills and make a real, lasting difference to their communities.

The proposed development – for which plans have recently been submitted to the local council – is a long-term investment vision for Bootle and includes 107 affordable family homes, an 80-bed extra care facility for residents aged 55 and over, leisure facilities, a microbrewery and an arts hub and business centre.

One such project that students on the College’s Digital courses are already working on, is a community app, to keep members of the Bootle community updated on events in the area, and the progress of the regeneration project. The second phase of the project will see students create a digital health solution, which will link to local GP practices and enable remote health monitoring. This particular project is even more relevant given the strain that has been put on the NHS this year, with many practices being forced to conduct appointments remotely.

Brian Dawe, CEO at SAFE Regeneration said:

“We are delighted to be working with such a progressive college for the benefit of our community. Students will gain valuable experience of delivering ground breaking projects, whilst learning about the social value of our work – this is true partnership working.

“We believe passionately that the good people of Bootle deserve quality and choice and are committed to working with our community partners to continue to bring significant social, economic and environmental benefits to our neighbourhood. We’re incredibly excited to have the future generation of talented workers so involved in this ambitious project.”

Elaine Bowker, principal and chief executive at The City of Liverpool College, said:

“The partnerships that we have across The City of Liverpool College are designed to provide our students with unique opportunities real world experience. We are passionate about ensuring that we are providing our students with the skills they need to enter the world of work and having the chance to work on such a significant local project for students across the College is an opportunity like no other.

“We are looking forward to seeing the results of this partnership come to fruition and seeing our students made a real, lasting change in their communities.”

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