Doncaster Chamber Celebrates News That Network Rail Is Set To Take Over Former NCATI Building

In light of yesterday’s announcement that Network Rail will be the new tenants of what used to be the National College For Advanced Transport & Infrastructure (NCATI), Doncaster Chamber is celebrating the latest in a recent string of positive developments for our region.

For context, it has just been revealed, by City of Doncaster Council, that Network Rail has signed a 25-year lease for this dormant site, which it will promptly be developing into a bespoke training facility that offers a range of different apprenticeship and trainee opportunities.

In its original form, NCATI was envisioned as a specialist institution that would provide the skills required to help deliver our country’s ambitious HS2 line. The idea being that it would accomplish this by training the next generation of rail engineers, designers, managers and other assorted talent to work on the major infrastructure project.

However, the college’s narrow remit was eventually expanded to try and improve enrolment, with it becoming the less niche NCATI when the University of Birmingham took over in 2021. Despite this broadening of scope, the institution continued to suffer from low student numbers and was ultimately forced to close its doors just two years later; winding down all of its education programmes in the process.

The news that the £26m building will soon be rebooted, with the nation’s foremost rail infrastructure provider at the helm, is therefore an incredibly welcome development.

Speaking about this, Dan Fell, Chief Exec of Doncaster Chamber, said: “While not a fatal blow for our economy, the closure of NCATI in 2023 was certainly bruising for Doncaster. After all, the college had state-of-the-art facilities, an excellent faculty and a very exciting offer for students. Yet, thanks in no small part to Government indecision regarding HS2, it was sadly hobbled for the start and never allowed to reach its full potential.

“As such, the announcement that a significant industry player, in the form of Network Rail, has signed a 25-year lease to be the new tenants of this building is extremely heartening. Not only does it signal that the outside world does indeed have faith in Doncaster — and in our well-earned reputation as both a historic rail city — but it also means that we will be able to draw upon even more expertise in this area than we already have.

“Meanwhile, the fact that we will be getting another specialist, post-16 education provider on our doorstep will only serve to enhance our exemplary skills offer. While many of the operational details still need to be ironed out, it’s safe to say that our residents, businesses and economy are all set to reap the benefits of this.

“As outlined in our ambitious Doncaster ’35: A Manifesto for a Winning City, our vision for the next ten years is one in which Doncaster will be at the very bleeding edge of skills, with a business community that has access to the talent it needs to prosper, and rife opportunities for young people to get their foot in the door of our booming sectors. Rail is unquestionably one of those industries that we do need to be investing in here, and so this news is a pleasing step in the right direction.

“Combined with other recent developments — like the encouraging progress that has been made with the DSA negotiations and the announcement that we will be getting a second UTC in the near future — it truly feels like Doncaster is staging a big comeback right now. On behalf of the local business community, I’d like to thank all of those — both in the public eye and behind the scenes— who have played a role in getting us to this point. If we can continue to sustain this momentum, I believe our city has a very bright future ahead of it.”

To find out more about the Chamber’s aspirations for the decade ahead (covering everything from skills and workforce to transport and the rejuvenation of our city centre), read Doncaster ’35: A Manifesto for a Winning City.