Staff are moving into a new £6.5 million building at East Kent College.

The keys to the new Centre for Environmental Technologies were handed over to deputy principal Anne Leese earlier this month.

Scheduled to take its first students in November, the workshops and classrooms at the Broadstairs campus will have equipment for plumbing, carpentry, electronic and mechanical engineering.

East Kent College is consulting employers in the area to make sure the centre, built by constructon firm Morgan Sindall, teaches skills needed by local businesses.

Thanet South MP Laura Sandys said: “The centre is great news for Thanet and adds yet another dimension to our green business offering.

“I am delighted that following a great deal of work to secure this money, which included my inviting the Minister John Hayes to Thanet, we now have a one of a kind environmental technologies centre which will provide people with the skills they need to obtain work in this ever expanding sector right into the future.”

Deputy principal Anne Leese said: “It will provide fantastic facilities and opportunities for our students.”

Visitors will be able to take a guided tour of the new centre at East Kent College’s open day on Saturday, November 9.