New Community Campus: Timetable
On Tuesday 9 October Perth & Kinross Council formally announced that the next key stage of its multi-million pound Investment in Learning Programme had been achieved, enabling construction to begin shortly on ‘six new cutting-edge community campuses’.
Financial Close had been reached following detailed negotiations covering all aspects of the project including design and layout, furniture and equipment, and facilities management. Discussions have continued with Axiom Education since it was announced as the Preferred Bidder consortium by the Council in April 2006. With negotiations complete, contracts for the £136m Programme have now been signed and building works will shortly begin.
Axiom Education is owned by ABN AMRO Infrastructure Capital Management Ltd, as part of its Global Infrastructure Fund. |
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The six new learning campuses, in Aberfeldy, Blairgowrie, Crieff, Kinross and Perth, will provide modern, high-quality facilities for learning, teaching and wider community use, including public libraries, music, dance and drama studios, all-weather sports pitches and meeting rooms and halls. All six are anticipated to be operational by Autumn 2011.
Innovative
Innovative design will be a feature of the new campuses, incorporating many sustainable elements, including green energy generation in the form of biomass boilers which will be used to heat three of the six campuses. The boilers will be fuelled by wood chip pellets, with the fuel locally sourced as far as possible - creating and supporting local jobs.
P&K Council Leader, C’llr Ian Miller, said: “Our consortium partner, Axiom Education, will shortly begin the construction phase of the Programme - the six new schools and associated community facilities will be built and fitted out over the next three years with the joint campus at Blairgowrie planned to be the first to open, which should be early in 2009.
“We will be liaising closely with the Council and the contractors Laing O’Rourke to ensure school communities and local residents are kept informed, both on the progress of the building works and on safety measures that they will need to be aware of during the build phase.”
The key dates for the Highland Perthshire Community Campus in Aberfeldy with its nursery, primary and secondary school provision are: on-site start date 22/10/2007, to begin with construction of temporary decant accommodation and progress to the campus being operational on 13/12/2010. Works on sports provision aim to be completed by 01/08/2011 with the grass pitch expected ready for use in January 2013
P&K Lifelong Learning Convener, C’llr Elizabeth Grant, added: “The Investment in Learning Programme will allow P&K Council to react to the changing conditions and demands of our communities with regard to their educational and wider community property needs.
“Investment In learning is a real statement of our intent to provide excellent learning and community facilities for everyone.
“The new campuses have been designed to fit the communities they serve and will be flexible and adaptable enough to serve as community resources that are accessible by the public, and not just young people of school age. I look forward to seeing contruction begin on these excellent buildings.”
Highland Perthshire’s C’llr Ken Lyall told Comment: “I feel an immense relief that the Investment in Learning projects - specifically the Breadalbane Campus including a new Community Recreation Centre - will now definitely go ahead.
“The whole process has taken years with the community, Breadalbane School Board, and the User Group having as much input as possible. They have all been exceptionally patient with the process and kept positive which has made it easier for Council
Officers to continue protracted negotiations with Axiom over the last year or so.”
He added: “I intend to continue my involvement in the community school project as long as I can, to try to ensure that the building works are carried out timeously and, for as long as I am a councillor, to hold Axiom to account, if need be, to the agreed contract for the next 30 years.”
Biomass Fuel Dividend
Breadalbane is one of the three campuses that will be heated using sustainable bio-mass technology employing wood chip fuels - the essence of sustainability. The burning of biomass is carbon neutral, and it also creates more local jobs than any other renewable energy alternative by sourcing local suppliers of woodfuel.
It is anticipated that the three biomass schools will create 24 full-time local jobs and remove some 600 tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere per year. P&K Environment Convener, C’llr Alan Grant, said: “Burning biomass from sustainably managed forests does not release more carbon than is taken up by forests and so is a totally renewable resource.
“On top of that, woodfuel will provide a new local market for local timber suppliers, giving an economic return on their local plantation forests as well as providing local jobs and stimulating the rural economy.”
A range of technologies will also be employed to deliver efficient use of energy and water. For example an integrated
Building Energy Management System (BEMS) will control artificial lighting depending on daylight levels. All light fittings are low energy. Underfloor heating will be fitted and standard air conditioning will only be used in essential rooms.
‘Future Proofing’ Measures
Axiom Education has designed the six learning campuses and will build, operate and maintain them over a 30-year period. At the end of the 30 years, the buildings pass from Axiom’s ownership to that of the local authority, and must be in an appropriate condition at that time.
The contract with Axiom sets out that buildings and their internal components must have set lifespans beyond the 30-year contract period: eg for the main structure, this is a minimum of a further 30 years.
There will be robust monitoring of the contract with Axiom – performance standards have been set for the maintenance and repair of the campus and penalties will be incurred if these are not met.
The design and specification of the new local campus was developed in consultation with a User Group composed of interests throughout Highland Perthshire.
The floor area of the school section of the new facility will be twice that of the existing one. This increased space will help to provide a better environment for learning and teaching.
In addition, the community facilities available at the new campus will include music and drama studios, ICT suite, meeting rooms, assembly hall and the public library. The Aberfeldy Recreation Centre, currently on site, will be demolished and replaced with more modern facilities.
Availability of the facilities for community use will be greatly enhanced, both within and beyond the school day and throughout the holidays - Monday - Friday 7am-10pm, Saturday/Sunday 8am-5pm, with additional provision of 5pm-11pm on 50 weekends per contract year.
To enable safe community access while maintaining security for pupils and staff, the buildings will be zoned, with access controlled by a smartcard system.
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