OAKLANDS College is about to submit plans for the third time for a major new development at its Smallford Campus. The application to redevelop the site in Hatfield Road, St Albans, is part of a £100-million hub-and-spoke development which will base the hu

OAKLANDS College is about to submit plans for the third time for a major new development at its Smallford Campus.

The application to redevelop the site in Hatfield Road, St Albans, is part of a £100-million hub-and-spoke development which will base the hub there with several individual campus spokes.

Oaklands is proposing to put a new building on the Smallford Campus to offer students access to a range of resources including state-of-the-art IT services and new sports and leisure facilities. They are also planning to build 70 homes on the site.

The latest plans have been adapted to reduce the impact on the Green Belt and include enhanced proposals to ease transport issues in Hatfield Road.

The changes include moving the main building 80 metres closer to the existing buildings, integrating the sports hall into one of the wings and having a joint entrance to the site rather than individual ones.

Large areas of the gardens are to be kept and tree planting and the addition of a pond are proposed to improve the habitat for wildlife.

Measures are also being taken to encourage the use of public transport which include reducing the number of parking spaces from 1,000 to 750 and charging people to use them.

Oaklands is also looking to increase the number of buses that run between the campuses and wants to encourage cycling by offering staff and students discounted bicycles and installing showers.

In addition the college is planning improvements to the Smallford roundabout in Hatfield Road, a new roundabout in Colney Heath Lane and an additional roundabout at the entrance to the Alban Park Estate.

The first planning application for the scheme was submitted last June but was returned to the college because it had not given sufficient information. A second application in October was withdrawn.

If planning permission is given, preparatory work will begin in August.

College principal Mark Dawe said: "This is an incredibly exciting development for St Albans, providing a further education facility that meets the needs of current and future generations of students.