By Rachel Fergusson
Copyright scotsman
A crunch meeting to decide the future of the Alloa campus of Forth Valley College has been delayed to allow talks about the facility’s fate to continue. Earlier this month, the college said its three-campus model was “no longer financially sustainable” and it was considering closing its site in Alloa. A board meeting scheduled for Friday was set to make a final decision on whether the campus would remain open to staff and students. However, in a statement on Monday, the college said the planned meeting had been “stood down” to allow discussions with stakeholders and potential partners to continue. The college said a revised timeline will be issued. Forth Valley College, which also has campuses in Falkirk and Stirling, said its financial problems had been caused by a drop in real-term funding, rising staff costs, higher energy costs and a 10 per cent credit reduction since the 2023/24 session. The latest announcement comes days after staff, students, union members and politicians rallied outside the campus against its threatened closure. Dr Abhishek Agarwal, chair of the Forth Valley College board of management, said: “There is currently a significant amount of on-going engagement with external stakeholders by the senior management team (SMT) regarding the future of the Alloa campus. “As discussed at the Board meeting on 14 August, SMT’s intention had been to bring a paper on the college estate to the meeting on the September 26. However, we continue to explore a number of options. “Given the significant nature of the decision facing the board, and in consultation with SMT, we have decided to stand down the board meeting on September 26 as it would not be appropriate to bring a paper to the board for a decision at this time, whilst these options are still being explored.” Dr Agarwal said the board was unable to provide further details, but that it was working to secure the “best possible outcome” for staff and students. Kenny MacInnes, principal of Forth Valley College, said: “I agree with Dr Agarwal that it was the correct decision to stand down the scheduled meeting, so we can focus seriously on these strong potential leads and give them our full attention to hopefully reach a positive outcome.” He added: “Once again, I would like to state that we fully understand how unsettling this news will be, particularly the uncertainty for staff and students based at Alloa and for the wider local community. Please be assured that we are here to listen, to answer any questions, and to provide support to anyone who needs it.” The college previously said it had undertaken an analysis of the costs of each campus, and the Alloa site had been identified for cut backs. At the start of the month, the educational institution said options being explored included the sale and leaseback of the building, retaining ownership and leaseback of parts of the building, or selling part or all of the campus. GMB Scotland, which represents workers across Scotland’s colleges and previously criticised the college for “locking out” staff from discussions, described the move to delay the decision was a positive step. Keir Greenaway, senior GMB organiser, said: “The proposed timeline towards what would be a potentially catastrophic decision for staff and students at Alloa was far too short. How the college made this announcement was sudden, rushed and only fuelled uncertainty across the campus. “The unnecessary haste allowed no time for serious discussion of other options, so we are glad the brakes have been applied to help secure the future of this important and respected campus. “Any discussions currently taking place between the college and external stakeholders must be mirrored by talks with staff and their unions. The voice of workers must be heard and heeded. “Our immediate priority is here in Alloa, but the far wider funding emergency across the sector demands emergency action to protect a sector where our young people learn skills and find a future.”