It has been closed for months
New signage at the former Oxford Business College on Carlton Road, Nottingham(Image: Joseph Raynor/ Reach PLC)
The potential future use of a Nottingham college that shut after being accused of abusing the student loan system has been revealed.
Oxford Business College (OBC), which had franchising agreements with universities that allowed enrollees to get a degree and funding while studying at places like its Carlton Road campus, closed after it was accused of failing to ensure students had basic English skills or attended lectures.
The college’s large building in St Ann’s has been empty since late August last year, despite the private education provider overturning a legal ruling by education secretary Bridget Phillipson that had intended to ban students from receiving student loans that same month.
Billboards placed outside of the college – which was stripped of its OBC branding before its ongoing closure – now claim it could become an ‘AI Knowledge Park’.
The boards, which display a selection of conceptual images of what the site could apparently look like in the future, state the planned park would provide a “perfect balance of style and functionality with developments designed to meet every person’s needs and modern amenities”.
The potential different uses of the land would also help tackle modern-day loneliness and provide an inclusive space for residents, those behind it said.
Oxford Business College was contacted about the supposed plans, but did not respond by the time of publication.
While the business has applied to Nottingham City Council in recent weeks to get permission for a café that was already being built on the site, no formal plans have been submitted relating to any large-scale redevelopment like the one in the banners.
OBC’s directors previously said that it would have to sell off its properties or find new partnerships to survive the impact of the Department for Education’s legal move, which although overturned had prevented them from recruiting new students.
Educational institutions like Buckinghamshire New University – which Nottingham students had received degrees from after studying at OBC – cut ties with the business after the education secretary publicly announced she was taking action over “credible concerns” about its conduct.
The embattled private educator, which had also operated campuses in Oxford, London, Brentford and Slough, previously launched two pivotal legal bids to try to stabilise its financial position.
It is suing the Department for Education for millions of pounds over the de-designation, which it said had destroyed its finances and resulted in nearly all of its 5,000 students leaving.
The college has also launched a legal claim against the University of West London, which had been another of its franchise partners.
It has accused the university of owing it almost £7 million for a course it had taught.