PLANS for a £47.5m expansion of Universities At Medway, based at Chatham Maritime, were unveiled today.

The expanded campus, now used by University of Greenwich, will be used by at least four other Universities. Student numbers at the site will rise from 2,700 to 6,000 by 2010.

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) has contributed £15m. SEEDA, the South East England Development Agency has

granted a further £8.6m. Other funding partners are Medway Council, Mid Kent College, the University of Kent, and the

Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE).

The University of Greenwich already has 2,700 students and extensive research and teaching facilities at the campus. The

expansion is expected to add £10 million additional expenditure to the local economy.

Thames Gateway Minister Keith Hill said: "A successful higher education sector is a key component of the

regeneration of the Thames Gateway, and supplies people with the right skills that are vital for creating sustainable communities.

"We are delighted to contribute £15m to expand the Universities at

Medway campus - providing new learning opportunities for local people and regeneration of the Medway Towns.

"This will make a tremendous contribution towards the overall prosperity of the wider community and I welcome the enthusiastic involvement of all partners in making it happen."

The money has enabled the universities to buy the former Drill Hall and Canteen, both listed buildings, providing more than 100,000 sq ft of space to be converted into a

Learning Resource Centre, student facilities and teaching accommodation. Some laboratories will also be refurbished.

The Grade II Listed former Drill Hall was built in 1908 and has already been completely refurbished on the outside

by SEEDA at a cost of £3.3m.

SEEDA's Project Director, Chatham Maritime, Jonathan Sadler said: "This is a very exciting project for both SEEDA and the universities.

"We look forward to seeing the Drill Hall in action as a learning resource centre and to welcoming thousands more students to Medway in the next six years."