Loss of FE college will damage the area

Published: 11 November, 2010

• WE are writing to express our dismay and disappointment at the decision of the College of North West London’s decision to sell off the Kilburn campus on Priory Park Road.

Now the Con-Dem coalition government has cut back adult and further education funding on an unprecedented scale, the future for education and training provided in Kilburn looks bleak.

This cynical and ill-judged decision, coming just three months after courses there were suspended for a year, will be hugely disappointing to the students who were learning there and damaging to the local community.

After all, this is an award-winning building and the College of North West London were happy to take the plaudits of the Mayor of London when it was first launched, just three years ago. 

Keeping the sites at Wembley and Willesden may make sense for the college, but it certainly doesn’t make sense for Kilburn.  

Local people, especially our youngsters, from both sides of the High Road, need a college to equip them with the skills and knowledge to make the most of our challenging economic times. 

As a business and commercial centre, Kilburn and the wider NW6 area certainly needs a local further education institution as an essential piece of the local economic infrastructure.

As the local councillors for Kilburn, we will press the college to reconsider its decision, and we will also fight to make sure that this building continues to be used as a valuable resource for the community.

CLLR MARY ARNOLD
CLLR BEN OGUNRO
CLLR TAYO OLADAPO 
(Labour, Kilburn – Brent)
CLLR MARYAM ESLAMDOUST
CLLR THOMAS GARDINER
CLLR MIKE KATZ 
(Labour, Kilburn – Camden)