August 2011
Step forward for city school building programme
TWO city schools have taken a step closer to seeing construction of new buildings start on site.
Crown Hills and City of Leicester community colleges, which are a joint PFI project, are the next two schools due to be rebuilt as part of Leicester's Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme.
Leicester City Council's Cabinet have now given approval for the final business case for the projects, along with that of the Soar Valley Centre integrated service centre project.
The next step is now to submit the final business case to Partnerships for Schools, which is responsible for giving the final approval for construction to start this Autumn.
With a joint cost of £47.5m, funded through the Government’s PFI scheme, both schools are being rebuilt and are scheduled for completion in 2013. Crown Hills will cost £21.7million, whilst City of Leicester will cost £25.8million.
The Soar Valley Centre is a much smaller scheme with a total value of around £270,000 and is one of eight integrated service centres around the city.
Councillor Vi Dempster, Assistant City Mayor with responsibility for Children, Young People and Schools, said: "I am delighted that the programme is moving forward so quickly. We already have the builders on site at Rushey Mead, and now we are looking forward to seeing them at Crown Hills and City of Leicester.
"This, in addition to the first four schools that have already been rebuilt or refurbished, puts us in the enviable position of moving towards becoming one of the fastest BSF programmes in the country.
"This can only be good news, not only for the current and future students at these schools but also for the city as a whole, as the programme brings new employment opportunities across a wide range of areas."
Helen Ryan, the City Council's Director of Property, added: "We are very fortunate to be in the position of still being able to invest in our secondary schools through the BSF scheme.
"Everyone has worked extremely hard to get us to the current position where we can bring this report to Cabinet and progress these schemes.
"Next year we will be looking at a further 15 projects coming on line within a 12-month timeframe and I know that the council team and our delivery partners are working hard to make sure that we hit every deadline."
January 2011
Leicester Mercury - 15th January 2011
Work to rebuild and refurbish Leicester's secondary schools will start at Rushey Mead in April.
A scaled down plan for the city's Building Schools for the Future (BSF) project was given the go ahead by the Government just before Christmas.
Leicester City Council has made savings of £31 million (14 per cent) from a pot of about £218 million which remains to be spent.
Education secretary Michael Gove asked for cuts of up to 40 per cent last October but education bosses at the council said they managed to keep reductions to a minimum.
It means plans for the 21 schools have been scaled back and some may now be refurbished instead of rebuilt.
Work on Rushey Mead had been due to start before Christmas but was subsequently brought to a halt.
About £500,000 has now been shaved off the £19.6 million budget for the school, in Melton Road.
Costs are being saved on fixtures and fittings. The council has admitted this will mean a lower standard of refurbishment and higher maintenance costs in the future for all the schools in the programme.
Head teacher Carolyn Robson was unavailable for comment yesterday but Councillor Vi Dempster, education spokeswoman for the city council, said: "Now we know exactly how much is left in the BSF budget we are working in partnership with our shared vision.
"The delays and funding reductions are an added complication but I'm confident that we will deliver for all our schools."
It is hoped work on the last school in the programme will begin in January 2013.
The building timetable is being finalised for each school and is not yet available.
In an update to councillors on Leicester's children and young people scrutiny committee, the council's BSF project director Helen Ryan said: "The secretary of state has accepted efficiency savings over the whole of the remaining programme.
"We can now begin to progress all remaining projects.
"The first is Rushey Mead school and the final business case will be presented in the next few weeks with start on site planned for April 2011.
"The remainder of the BSF programme has been mapped out. The latest start on site is January 2013.
"We're starting to work with schools on the cost-cutting compromises on a school-by-school basis and sharing with them further detail on BSF processes and what is expected of them."
Crown Hills and City of Leicester schools are waiting to find out if their BSF projects can continue as they are being funded through a private finance initiative between the Government and the council.
The city's other schools have been given funding by the Department for Education.
January 2010
Beaumont Leys hosts national Building Schools for the Future open day- press release from the PfS website
November 2009
Beaumont Leys among BSF award-winners - press release from the PfS website
August 2009
Article featured in the PPP Journal August 2009
April 2009
Article featured on the eGov website on 30th April 2009
Article featured in the Leicester Mercury 28th April 2009
Article featured in Construction News 22nd April 2009
Article featured in Project Data File 22nd April 2009
Article in Leicester Mercury 20th April 2009
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