24th November
Morley announces multi-million pound refurbishment of the Waterloo Centre for Adult Education
Morley College London has been awarded a grant of £5.8m by the Department for Education’s Further Education Capital Improvement Fund to improve and refurbish the Waterloo Centre for Adult Education at 61 Westminster Bridge Road, SE1. Work will start this week, February 2025, and is expected to be completed in autumn 2025.

The building company Overbury have been appointed by Morley College London to carry out the project working with architect 5plus. The major project will insulate and refurbish the roof and transform the Waterloo Centre’s energy efficiency in a college-wide drive to achieve net zero by 2040.
The refurbishment will sensitively modernise the Centre’s main performance space: the much-cherished Emma Cons Hall and upgrade the Hall’s acoustics, heating system and infrastructure. The project will improve accessibility to the Emma Cons and the adjoining Johnny Harris Studio Theatre.
Once completed, the Emma Cons Hall and Johnny Harris Studio Theatre will become flexible, multi-purpose performance spaces that meet the diverse needs of students and tutors on Morley’s performance and theatre courses and host an impressive programme of shows and events at the Waterloo Centre.
Dr Andrew Gower, Morley’s CEO and Principal of Morley College London said:
“Morley College London is going from strength to strength, with excellent facilities offering high-quality and enriching environments for our students at each of our centres. Learning changes lives, and Morley is all about creating the opportunities through which our students can pursue their passions.
“The new DfE-funded capital investment at the Waterloo Centre for Adult Education is a once in a generation opportunity for Morley to carry out essential repair works to the building, reduce our carbon footprint, and transform performance spaces to be accessible for all. This investment is much-needed and will create a lasting legacy for future generations of adult learners in London.”
A spokesperson from the Department for Education said:
“Morley College London Waterloo Centre is an iconic building offering essential education for generations of adult learners, especially serving the local communities in Southwark and Lambeth.
“This government is mission-driven to break down the barriers to opportunity and this investment will have lasting impact. Morley College London is providing an excellent adult educational service to the communities of London.”
Waterloo Centre For Adult Learning Centre Principal Bushra Iqbal commented:
”The Waterloo Centre for Adult Education has been home to adult learners for over one hundred years. This capital investment will make exciting improvements to our performance space and facilities which will enhance the architecture and art that already make the Waterloo Centre so special for our community of adult learners, visitors and partners.”
A new presentation of Morley’s permanent art collection
The Emma Cons Hall opened in 1958 and is well-known for two large-scale murals that span the length of the Hall, painted in situ by artist Martin Froy in 1958.
Titled “Sun Up” and “Sun Down”, the fifty-five feet long by eight feet high murals will be cleaned and restored this year, while other works in Morley’s permanent art collection will be re-hung and newly presented across the Waterloo Centre.

Improved accessibility to the Waterloo Centre for Adult Education
The refurbishment project will make the Emma Cons Hall and Johnny Harris Studio Theatre fully accessible to students and visitors, with step-free entrances.
A brand-new public entrance into the Johnny Harris Studio Theatre will be created from King Edward Walk leading to a new Theatre reception area. The new entrance will enable the Theatre and Emma Cons Halll to operate separately from the main block of the Waterloo Centre for Adult Education on Westminster Bridge Road.
The 2025 refurbishment work follows on from previous accessibility improvements made in 2021 to the Waterloo Centre’s reception and the renovation in the same year of Morley Gallery, situated next to the Waterloo Centre.
A dynamic cultural destination in Waterloo
Once completed, the 2025 Waterloo Centre renovation project will create a welcoming and dynamic cultural destination for students and local communities encompassing a renovated performance hall, theatre and gallery, opening up new opportunities to attract a new generation of adult learners and visitors to the Waterloo Centre.

The Waterloo Centre will stay open for teaching throughout the 2025 renovation work. However, the Emma Cons Hall and Johnny Harris Studio Theatre will close from early February for six months, and alternative performance space is being rented nearby.
The 2025 Waterloo Centre refurbishment is the latest investment in Morley College London’s buildings and facilities to enhance the learning experience for Morley’s students. Over the five years since its merger with Kensington and Chelsea College in 2020, Morley has transformed both the North Kensington Centre for Skills (in 2023) and the Chelsea Centre for Creative Industries (in 2024).