Shaping Education Together: LEP’s Continued Work with East Kent College

With the recent completion of East Kent College’s Sheppey College, we wanted to take the opportunity to reflect on the strength of a partnership that has helped shape learning environments across the region.

Over a number of years, LEP has worked alongside EKC to deliver a series of ambitious, future-focused education projects – each designed to enhance student experience, respond to local skills needs, and embed colleges more deeply within their communities.

Folkestone College: Transformed Campus, Enhanced Identity

At Folkestone College, LEP played a key role in redefining the campus experience. The new Welcome Building and wider redevelopment created a modern, unified frontage, transforming a former car park into a dynamic gateway for students and visitors.

Through a careful blend of new-build and refurbishment, the redesign also celebrated the site’s heritage by integrating historic buildings such as the Victorian chapel into vibrant, multi-purpose learning spaces. The result not only delivered state-of-the-art facilities, but also strengthened the college’s identity within the local community.

Spring Lane, Canterbury: Creating Specialist Learning Environments

At Canterbury’s Spring Lane Campus, LEP delivered a purpose-built facility tailored to animal management, conservation and horticulture education. Designed with sustainability at its core, the campus adopts a ‘fabric first’ approach, incorporating natural ventilation, green roofs, and strong connections between indoor and outdoor learning environments.

The project reflected a shared ambition with EKC: to create spaces that are not only functional, but inspiring – supporting both academic achievement and student wellbeing.

Dover Beacon: Strengthening Local Economies Beyond Education

Located at the heart of Dover town centre, the £22m Bench Building represents one of LEP’s most ambitious examples of education-led regeneration in the EKC portfolio. Designed as a landmark development, the scheme brought together education, enterprise and culture in a single, highly visible civic destination.

Developed in close collaboration with Dover District Council and wider project partners, the scheme delivered a new creative and digital campus for EKC Group, alongside a business start-up centre and flexible studio and exhibition spaces for local creatives. Set on a complex and prominent site where key routes through the town meet, the design was required to respond to multiple urban conditions, balancing the demands of infrastructure, public realm and heritage. A series of new public spaces, including three interconnected piazzas and a riverside setting, helped to re-establish connections across the town while creating welcoming places for learning, gathering and community activity.

Margate Digital Hub: Driving Digital Innovation

Projects such as the Margate Digital campus further highlight LEP’s ability to support EKC’s forward-thinking vision – developing facilities that respond to the growing demand for digital and creative skills, and equipping students for the industries of tomorrow.

Benefitting from LEP’s full range of expertise in planning, architecture, heritage and interior Design, the project has transformed a vacant former Marks & Spencer unit, into a dynamic, future-focused digital hub at the heart of Margate. Backed by significant public investment, the campus represents a major step forward in strengthening the region’s digital skills pipeline and supporting economic regeneration.

Margate Digital is already establishing strong connections with both local businesses and global organisations. Collaborations with industry leaders such as Adobe demonstrate how the campus is bridging the gap between education and the professional world.

By embedding itself within the local business ecosystem, the scheme not only enhances the town centre but also creates meaningful opportunities for students, businesses, and the wider community.

Sheppey College: Supporting Regeneration

LEP’s latest EKC project at Sheppey College exemplifies the practice’s ability to align education design with wider economic and community ambitions. The proposed new teaching wing has transformed an underutilised town centre site into a vibrant, future-focused learning environment.

Designed as more than just an extension, the scheme positions the college as a catalyst for regeneration in Sheerness. By expanding curriculum provision in key areas such as digital, engineering, logistics and creative industries, the development directly responds to local skills gaps and employer needs – supporting long-term economic growth across the Isle of Sheppey.

At the heart of the design is a strong placemaking approach. The new building acts as a civic anchor, strengthening the connection between the historic dockyard and the town centre, while creating a welcoming, community-focused environment that promotes collaboration, pride, and identity.

Sustainability is also central to the scheme, with a ‘fabric first’ approach, bio-solar roof systems, and low-carbon technologies ensuring the building is both environmentally responsible and future-ready.

A Partnership Built on Trust

Across each of these projects, a consistent theme emerges: collaboration. LEP’s multidisciplinary approach- spanning architecture, planning, interiors, and heritage – has enabled EKC to realise complex, high-impact developments that drive regeneration, support communities, and unlock opportunity.

From revitalising historic campuses to delivering new, sustainable learning environments, the partnership continues to push boundaries in further education design.