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Work has started on turning an empty three-storey town centre building into a new £9.5m sixth form college.

Chisholm House, in Corby, will be transformed into a new "state of the art campus", North Northamptonshire Council said.

The town was awarded almost £20m as part of the government's investment programme.

David Brackenbury, the council’s executive member for growth and regeneration, said the college "aims to encourage economic growth in the local area".

When complete, Corby Sixth Form will have science labs, resource centres, performance areas and more than 25 classrooms.

There will be an external roof terrace, a cafe, common room areas and would be carbon neutral, the council said.

It will be run by the Bedford College Group from the autumn.

Conservative Mr Brackenbury said it would benefit "not just the pupils that attend but also the wider Corby area".

The other three projects, which will use the £19.9m awarded from the Town's Fund, are an arts and community centre in the town centre, improved links to the train station and the installation of smart technology to monitor flows of pedestrians, cyclists, motorists and visitors to Corby.

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