MP GARETH Thomas has demanded a meeting with the minister for further education over the failure to find cash for Harrow College.

The Labour representative for Harrow West and minister for international development will write to his counterpart Kevin Brennan after the latter's announcement on Friday that only 13 college building projects will be funded this year.

Harrow College had hoped to combine its Harrow on the Hill and Harrow Weald campuses into one complex on the site of Lowlands Open Space in Lowlands Road, Harrow, with three-quarters of the cost, £116m, coming from taxpayers.

But last autumn it was revealed there was a massive black hole in the budget of the Learning and Skills Council, which funds further education, and consequently some projects that had been promised money would have to be scrapped.

On Friday, Mr Brennan told the House of Commons: "The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) is announcing today a shortlist of 13 further education building projects which are proceeding to the next stage of development.

"The 13 projects announced today have been prioritised from over 180 projects submitted to the LSC as part of the latest round of the further education capital programme."

Neither Harrow College, Stanmore College nor the College of North West London were among the successful schemes, which were vetted on five criteria:

n the education and skills impact;

n contribution to local economic and regeneration priorities;

n co-dependency;

n the current condition of the estate; and

n value for money.

Harrow College's plans were the eighth most expensive in the country but it had been one of only three institutions that, at the time the funding bid process was suspended, had already submitted a more detailed bid for second stage approval, known as 'approval in detail'.

The remaining 76, including Stanmore College and the College of North West London, had only passed the first stage, called 'approval in principle'.

After announcing the 13 bids that would be progressed - with South Thames College and Leyton Sixth Form College being London's only two entries on the list - Mr Brennan continued: "For colleges which have not been selected to proceed this year, the next steps start this autumn when the Learning and Skills Council will further consult with the sector to agree a robust, fair and transparent process for prioritising the capital investment programme for the next spending review period starting in 2011/12.

"The size and scope of the programme will depend on the outcome of the next spending review.

"Many colleges have incurred development costs for projects which will not now be going ahead in the short term.

"The Learning and Skills Council has a contingency fund to mitigate the impact of potential aborted costs on the financial health of colleges.

"This will be limited to those appropriately incurred within the terms of the capital programme."

Harrow College has already spent £10 million on business plans for which it hopes will be reimbused by the LSC.

Councillor David Ashton, leader of Harrow Council, said: "This decision leaves our plans to kick start the regeneration of our town centre left back to square one. It lets down the young people and the whole community of Harrow.

"The new civic centre [earmarked for the current site of the college's Harrow on the Hill campus] would have provided a key anchor for a better town centre and could have created a 21st century civic campus with the police and Primary Care Trust.

"The Learning and Skills Council have completely wasted £10.6m of Harrow College's money, and put us as a council to considerable expense on abortive plans and discussions over the last two years.

"What is the point of having a confirmed grant programme, leading participants to spend substantial sums, when the rug is pulled so late in the day?"

Harrow Council has now written to Mr Brennan to ask for a meeting about the decision.