WITNEY'S main college campus is to stay in the town centre and undergo a £20m investment to transform it into a state-of-the-art education facility.

The college is also to open a Rural Skills Centre, to be built on some 100 acres of land occupied by the college's internationally-renowned equine studies centre, at Common Leys Farm, Hailey.

Abingdon and Witney College managers have cancelled plans to move from the existing site, in Holloway Road, to the outskirts of the town.

Consultations with students, residents, councillors, and the business community showed overwhelming support for the college to stay in the town.

College director of development, Steve Billcliffe, said: "When we met businesses from West Oxfordshire, we got the same feedback as from the rest of the town that they favoured the college staying in the town centre.

"We're confident this is the way forward.

"People have said this will make the town centre really something special, with a new state-of-the-art college next to the new shopping complex at Marriotts Close.

"It will complement the Marriotts Close development, and make people think learning is just as important as shopping and going to the cinema."

Architects are already working on plans for the new buildings, which will be environmentally efficient, with water heated by the earth, and the windows facing the sun to harness solar power.

The college will put forward proposals for funding to the Learning and Skills Council in September, when it will also put in an outline planning application to the district council.

Construction could start as soon as September 2007, and would be phased over four years. Teaching would continue at the campus during the work.

Mr Billcliffe said many of the existing buildings, including temporary classrooms, were 'past their best'.

He said another reason for the expansion was the increase in the number of students.

He said: "More 16-year-olds are realising it's a smart move to stay on. Businesses feel they need to keep their staff's skill up to date, so we have more adult students.

"We have an increasing number of people studying one day a week for a foundation degree, through Oxford Brookes, and with the increase in building and more families moving to the area, the population of west Oxfordshire has grown."

Lesley Semaine, chairman of the Witney Chamber of Commerce, said: "It's wonderful news.

"It will be a marvellous boost for the town and to the students and they are the future of the town.

"It makes sense to keep it in the town centre. It's easy for the students to get to, and they can shop, work, and get lodgings in the town."