A FUNDING boost of nearly £60million will mean a Suffolk college is set for a revamp.

A FUNDING boost of nearly £60million will mean a Suffolk college is set for a revamp.

All but three of the buildings at the West Suffolk College campus in Bury St Edmunds will be knocked down as part of a wholesale redevelopment scheme earmarked to begin next year.

The college can now go ahead with the scheme, which has been in the planning stage for the past two years, after the Learning and Skills Council agreed to pay £58m of the £78m project cost.

David Howells, deputy principal at the college, said: “It is a fantastic opportunity. We've been working on this for two years and all of a sudden we can go ahead with it.

“I think it will be really good - some of the buildings here are 50 or 60 years old. This will be really good for our students and it will be really good for the town.

Work is expected to get under way early next year and be finished during 2012. The £20m shortfall between the project cost and Government funding will be made up from college funds and loans from Lloyds TSB.