THE £30M project to rebuild Witney’s college campus was shrouded in uncertainty last night after the Learning and Skills Council pulled the plug on funding.

Abingdon & Witney College principal Teresa Kelly described the decision not to provide money for the Witney campus rebuilding as “devastating”.

The college’s multi-million-pound plan to transform the ageing site campus, which includes Nissen huts used by the US Army Air Force during the Second World War, was put on hold last December, along with scores of other schemes across the country, after the LSC realised it had promised colleges more money than it had to spend.

Yesterday, the body announced it would be awarding grants to just 13 out of the 180 sites that had applied for funding.

Ms Kelly said: “The decision itself is so unacceptable that our first course of action will be to challenge it and get the LSC to justify it. We believed the campus project was extremely robust and ticked all the boxes.

“This is a real blow for our students and the local community, who were so supportive of the new development. As far as we’re aware, there’s no appeals process – this is devastating news.”

Witney MP David Cameron said: “The decision to not give Abingdon & Witney College the funding it needs is a real blow to education and skills training in west Oxfordshire. The college does have a special case, as it was so far advanced in the investment it was making.

“They’re in the middle of a crucial building project and now they’ve had the rug pulled from underneath them at the worst possible time.

“I will be doing everything I can to help the college find a way forward out of this mess.”

Since September, the college is believed to have paid £40,000 a month for 57 mobile buildings in to accommodate all 600 full-time students and staff at the campus, in Holloway Road.

All the old buildings have been stripped ready for demolition, which should have started in March.

LSC spokesman Steven Heaton said: “Locally, LSC staff are very concerned about the situation in Witney and the intention is they will work very closely with the principal to do everything we can to find a way forward.”

He said more money would e available next year.

Jason Shepherd, 20, who studies sound and vision, said: “When I was last there, I was in a cabin doing lessons and not in a classroom. I don’t see why they have left students to have lessons in a cabin, where there’s not the proper equipment.”

Student Serinne Curtis, 41, of Ambrosden, said: “In the cabins, you can hear people walking around and it’s very distracting. The classrooms are far too small. I’m shocked by the decision.”

witney@oxfordmail.co.uk