A FORMER railway works building in the Railway Village may become a new £9m University Technical College for Swindon.

Swindon Council announced yesterday that Workshop A, in London Street, was identified in a feasibility study as the preferred site for the UTC, which could lead to a university in Swindon.

Owner Network Rail would lease out the workshop, which would be converted at a cost of £7m to £9m, and relocate the small business currently occupying part of the 6,000sq metre site.

Swindon Council’s cabinet will be asked at a special meeting on January 11 to allocate up to £500,000 to the conversion, to strengthen the bid for the TUC, which must be submitted to the Government this month.

The UTC, which would be sponsored by Oxford Brooks University and supported by Swindon College, would offer diplomas, GCSEs and A-levels in subjects geared towards engineering.

David Renard, cabinet member for children’s services, said Workshop A would be the ideal location.

He said: “Workshop A means we can accommodate up to 600 pupils on one site. It has the advantage of being in a good location near the railway station and the bus station.

“It also has an industrial heritage and therefore the engineering angle of UTC fits well into that environment and it’s a flexible space that can be adjusted according to the needs of the UTC.”

A UTC is a new concept, with the first – called the JCB Academy – being set up in Staffordshire. The Government aims to have 24 institutions opened by 2014.

To qualify for funding, Swindon has to attract a big-name businesses backer and must be supported by a university.

Coun Garry Perkins, the council’s deputy leader, said Honda and BWM support the bid, but the business backer is expected to be a multinational manufacturing firm with a Swindon presence, which is in talks with the council.

The amount the council spends depends on whether the bid is successful and on the level of a grant offered by the Government for running costs.

Coun Perkins said the council, which would manage the 18-month conversion, did not have to earmark the £500,000 but this would bolster the bid.

He said: “If it’s seen that the council hasn’t just got its hands out but it’s willing to invest as well, it does help.”

The decision is expected in May.