GOVERNMENT education chiefs could team up with West Oxfordshire District Council in a bid to salvage the £30m redevelopment of Witney’s college campus.

Last month, the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) said it was set to shelve 79 further education college redevelopment schemes across the country.

The news came as a hammerblow to plans to regenerate Abingdon and Witney College’s rundown site in the town’s Holloway Road.

West Oxfordshire District Council stepped in to offer financial help to revive the plan and the LSC could be poised to take up the offer.

The new LSC chief executive, Geoff Russell, has written to council leader Barry Norton saying he believes a way forward could now be found.

No details of a rescue package have been unveiled, but college principal Teresa Kelly said yesterday that she hoped to get the project back on track by September.

She said: “I have been speaking to people with the LSC’s property team and they were certainly very interested with the offer that was made.

“West Oxfordshire District Council is the first authority to actually make an offer, though others had talked about it.

“From what I understand, they are looking at it as a possible pilot scheme, where local authorities can get involved with these schemes and Witney would be the first.”

The LSC said last night that it was still examining the idea.

Meanwhile, it was working with the Association of Colleges to prioritise the 79 stalled projects.

A spokesman said: “The c ouncil will be aiming to complete the consultation exercise as soon as possible and a further announcement on timescales is likely to be made shortly.”

Ms Kelly said: “We were due to start demolishing in January, so now I’m aiming to get things back on track by September.”

Temporary classrooms set up at the Witney campus are costing the college £40,000 per month.

Ms Kelly added: “The LSC is aware that for every month that we go over this, it will cost an additional £40,000.”

The project was due to be complete by September next year, but Ms Kelly said she thinks it will now end nine months later in June 2011.

She added: “We are looking, very crudely, at about £450,000 to £500,000 in additional costs.”

An LSC spokesman said: “We recognise that the college has invested in the development of its proposals and is operating from temporary classrooms.

“We are working with the college to help it manage the impact that this may have on its operations while we carry out the consultation.”

Mr Norton said: “The district council will continue to liaise and support Teresa Kelly in any way that it can, and reaffirms its willingness to explore ways in which the redevelopment of Abingdon and Witney College can move forward swiftly.”

witney@oxfordmail.co.uk