Craven College in Skipton has had its £46 million redevelopment plans put on hold.

The college is one of 65 further education centres across the country whose plans have been halted following a lack of funding from the Learning and Skills Council (LSC).

The college, which had expected to submit its plans about now, has said it is very disappointed, but remains hopeful that it will find funding from elsewhere.

And Craven District Council, which had supported the project and had hoped to include its own plans for a Craven Adventure Centre, has said it will do what it can to help.

Wes Johnson, the college’s vice-principal, said: “We are disappointed that plans are on hold due to the lack of Government funding and hope that the Government will make quick and fair allocations as soon as possible.”

The college – the fastest- growing further education college in North Yorkshire – unveiled its redevelopment plans last year. At the time, the college believed it had a very good chance of getting funding and was also given the support of the LSC.

Last June, Mr Johnson and the college's principal, Alan Blackwell, received the enthusiastic backing of Craven District Council for the expansion plans The scheme would have seen the college mainly brought together on a new site close to its Aireville centre, off the Skipton bypass.

The college, which currently operates from several different sites, aimed to provide links to the railway station. It was also going to incorporate the Craven Adventure Centre – a Craven District Council project which was aimed at bringing a world-class climbing venue to Skipton.

Jonathan Kerr, Craven District Council’s strategic director for environmental services, said it would be a great shame if the project did not go ahead.

“The proposed new campus and adventure centre is hugely important, not just for young people in Craven, but also for the economy. The essential skills that the college would be able to pass on would significantly boost the district’s workforce,” he said.

He said the adventure centre would be iconic for Craven.

“It would reinforce the district’s image as an area renowned for high-quality adventure and excitement in the Yorkshire Dales,” said Mr Kerr.

Both the college and Craven District Council hope that funding will be available from another source.

Mr Johnson said: “We believe that investing in new facilities would help us provide top-quality learning and training opportunities, bringing many benefits not only to the college and its 7,500 full-time and part-time students, but also in helping to meet the needs of the regional economy by building stronger links with employers and the wider community.”

And Mr Kerr said: “We hope that the college continues to seek ways to bring this project forward and we will give them as much support as possible.

“It would be a great shame to lose something which could have such a wide benefit for the community.”

The cut-off of LSC funding has also led to the halting of 79 construction projects which had already been started at further education colleges across the country.

Last week, Mark Haysom, the LSC’s chief executive, resigned because of the “well-publicised difficulties”.