Public consultation for proposed merger of Blackpool and The Fylde College and Furness College

A public consultation opens today on plans for the proposed merger between Blackpool and The Fylde College and Furness College.

The merger is proposed for 1 August 2026 and aims to create a financially strong, responsive and ambitious Further Education organisation that will be best placed to serve the skills and training needs of coastal communities across Lancashire and Cumbria.

The decision to explore a merger follows discussions between both colleges and has been supported through a joint steering group including representatives from each institution.

The shared vision is to create a new college group bringing together the strengths, expertise and resources of both organisations while retaining their existing names, local identities and campus locations.

The proposal outlines how this could enhance education and training across the region by broadening the curriculum offer, increasing access to specialist facilities and strengthening links with employers and industry.

It also sets out how a combined organisation could respond to changing skills needs while continuing to deliver high-quality provision for learners and apprentices.

Employers and partners could benefit from a more coordinated approach to skills delivery, with increased capacity to respond to workforce needs and a larger pipeline of work-ready learners.

Steve Fogg, chair of the corporation board at Blackpool and The Fylde College, said: “Our shared vision is to unite the very best strengths of both colleges, and this public consultation is an important opportunity for students, colleagues, employers, stakeholders and our communities to share their views on the proposed merger.”

“No final decision has been made and the feedback we receive will play a key role in informing the governing bodies’ consideration of the proposal.”

Meredydd David, chair of the corporation board at Furness College, said: “Both colleges share a commitment to delivering high-quality education to support new opportunities for our students and economic growth for the communities that we serve.

“The public consultation is an important step in this process and we encourage everyone with an interest in our work to take part and help shape the future of further education across our regions.”

Blackpool and The Fylde College was founded in 1892 and delivers programmes from entry level to Level 7 for more than 13,000 learners each year. It employs around 1,100 and has an annual turnover of approximately £73m.

Furness dates back to 1874 and currently enrols around 900 full-time learners aged 16-18 and supports more than 300 apprentices.

 It delivers a broad range of academic and technical programmes to young people and adults across the Furness peninsula and has ran schemes with BAE Systems.

The consultation runs from March 26 to April 30.

Under this proposal, all students would continue education at their current college following the merger.

Feedback can be submitted via the online consultation at: www.blackpool.ac.uk/merger or www.furness.ac.uk/merger

Responses can also be emailed to [email protected] or [email protected]

 A summary of the consultation feedback and the outcome will be published by Tuesday 30 June 2026.