PROPOSALS to build a new £28m sixth-form college at Lowestoft look set to clear another hurdle within days.Suffolk County Council's cabinet is being advised to endorse the plans for the new centre next to Lowestoft College when it meets next week.

PROPOSALS to build a new £28m sixth-form college at Lowestoft look set to clear another hurdle within days.

Suffolk County Council's cabinet is being advised to endorse the plans for the new centre next to Lowestoft College when it meets next week.

The centre would house up to 1,000 students and lead to the closure of sixth forms at the town's three high schools as part of the reorganisation of education in the area.

The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) Suffolk organised a competition to develop the project, and just one entry was submitted: from the newly-formed Lowestoft Learning Trust. Partners in this include the council, the three high schools, Lowestoft College and Southwold-based Adnams brewery.

The cabinet will discuss the proposals on Tuesday. A report to members says: “This proposal represents a very strong commitment from local organisations to the future of Lowestoft. It builds on established and successful partner-ships to create a nationally innovating structure for collaboration.”

The LSC regional council meets on December 2 to decide if it will provide the £28m capital costs needed to build the centre, which is scheduled to open in September 2011. The land would be provided by Lowestoft College on a long lease at a peppercorn rent.

Judith Mobbs, area director for the Learning and Skills Council in Suffolk, said it supported all developments that provided better opportunities and higher achievement for young people in Lowestoft.

The controversial schools shake-up in Suffolk will see the abolition of middle schools, with the first wave expected to take place in Lowestoft from 2011. Plans have also been submitted to build a new high school on the site of the existing Pakefield Middle School.