Two agricultural colleges in East Anglia have been given permission to merge by government officials. Two land-based colleges, Otley College in Suffolk and Easton College, Norwich, were given granted permission to merge today.

The two colleges, which are attended by around 3,000 students, have been working in partnership for over three years. The new enterprise will be known as the Easton & Otley College and will serve an area of over 10,000 square miles of England's prime agricultural land, offering further education courses and post 19 education.

The new college’s first appointed principal David Lawrence said that, as the land-based industries become ever-more technical, the colleges had increasingly needed to share specialised staff and the merger would allow this to continue, whilst spending public money more efficiently.

No jobs are expected to be lost and students will not be moved between the two sites as a result of the merger.

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