Burnley Council gave full consent to backers the Visions Learning Trust paving the way for construction to start at the Grade II-listed Victoria Mill site in Burnley.

The college for 14 to 19-year-olds will combine traditional education programmes with employer-led technical training, including apprenticeships to address the local skills gap in engineering, advanced manufacturing and construction industries.

Steve Gray, chief executive of Training 2000, lead sponsors of Visions Learning Trust, said: “We can now make our dream of establishing Pennine Lancashire’s first UTC a reality and I’m delighted we are able to get underway with the construction.

“The UTC offers an alternative to traditional education routes and will engage young people through hands-on, vocational learning that will give them a real flavour of what life is like in the world of work.”

Mike Cook, director of economic regeneration at Burnley Council, added: “This is a major step forward that will enable us to very shortly start the work on site.”

The facility will be fully operational by September 2013.