On 29 June 2021, Richmond upon Thames College (RuTC) announced a delay to the completion of the merger between HCUC (Harrow College & Uxbridge College) and RuTC.

The original merger date had been planned for 30 July 2021 and both colleges had been working together towards this date with excellent progress made.

However, a set of circumstances arose in May 2021 which led to the decision to delay the date of merger completion. The issues relate to planning in respect of the second phase of the RuTC capital development project – the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths) Centre.

At that time, these issues presented unresolved financial challenges for both HCUC and RuTC. RuTC and HCUC remain committed to the merger, and it is the intention that merger will go ahead with as brief a delay as possible.

In the months that have followed, RuTC has been working closely with all parties involved to resolve the planning issues as quickly as possible. Good progress is being made and RuTC and HCUC are optimistic that a resolution to these issues will be reached by the summer of 2022. Throughout this period of delay, leaders and governors at RuTC and HCUC have continued to work together to progress the proposed merger and it is intended that a new merger completion date will be set for as soon as possible after the expected positive outcome of the town planning matters.

Ian Valvona, Chair of Governors at RuTC, said, “RuTC will continue to work closely with HCUC this year towards the creation of Harrow, Richmond & Uxbridge College (HRUC), a newly-enlarged London College that will offer outstanding education and training to students across a large part of the capital.”

Nick Davies, Chair of Governors at HCUC added, “We at HCUC continue to work closely with RuTC colleagues, to assist in moving forward with the proposed merger that will be of benefit to HCUC and RuTC learners, staff and stakeholders. We are hopeful that the planning matters can be resolved in time for a summer 2022 merger date.”