A LONG-established art college is to be knocked down and moved to the heart of Middlesbrough

The Northern School of Art campus, on Green Lane, will be demolished and rebuilt on the Denmark Street car park in the town with the help of a £14.5m grant from the Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA). 

Leaders hope the new campus, near Middlesbrough bus station, will be built and up and running for September 2021.

Money for the move is expected to be signed off by council leaders and metro mayor Ben Houchen on Friday.

A 50-page report for next week’s meeting tells how the existing 1960s Linthorpe campus had “reached the end of its economic life” and “wasn’t suitable for teaching” in the 21st century. 

It also forecasts an increasing number of 16-18-year-olds in the region – with a new building allowing the school of art to expand its curriculum.

The report added: “Ultimately, we should be the Tees Valley’s second university.”

The council’s pay and display car park off Newport Road was sold by Middlesbrough Council for £315,000 in June to make way for a “flagship” development.

Meanwhile, papers for next week’s meeting show the condition of the Green Lane campus is “poor” and requires “significant” maintenance.

It added: “Our needs, options and economic assessments all show that relocation of The Northern School of Art to a new build “gateway” site on Denmark Street in Middlesbrough is the right solution to a set of problems presented by the current campus.”

Student numbers at the campus are expected to rise from about 500 to 730 by September 2027.

Replacing the Green Lane site with a new building was deemed too expensive – and a new campus on the car park near Sainsbury’s was favoured over two sites near the Boho zone at Middlehaven. Spades are expected to be in the ground on the site in April. Mr Houchen said the college was 'of national importance'.