Thelwall Community Junior School (Image: Google Street View)

At its meeting on Monday, January 12, the council’s cabinet will be informed about recent and planned condition funding investments in local authority-maintained schools in the borough.

According to a report to cabinet, the council is investing in the following school condition funding schemes:

  • Newchurch Primary School – Replacement boilers and hot water heater, including site safety/enabling works. (£90,000 maximum anticipated cost)
  • Newchurch Primary School – Works to improve fire safety, including improvements to fire compartmentation, such as replacing fire doors. (£200,000 maximum anticipated cost)
  • Newchurch Primary School – Refurbishment of key stage two pupil toilets, including improvements to accessibility. (£150,000 maximum anticipated cost)
  • Fox Wood Satellite Site at Sandy Lane Nursery and Forest School – Various remedial works including repairs to the boiler, the fixed electrical installations and the access control system. (£5,000 maximum anticipated cost)
  • Grappenhall Heys Primary School – Replacement boiler and hot water heater. (£50,000 maximum anticipated cost)
  • Woolston Learning Village – Improvements to and extension of the existing car park, along with possible introduction of a new access route (£165,000 maximum anticipated cost)

Improving fire safety

Furthermore, in accordance with the council’s constitution, approval is sought from cabinet to proceed with the following condition funding scheme that is anticipated to exceed the £250,000 threshold requiring a ‘key decision’ to be made:

  • Thelwall Community Junior School – Works to improve fire safety, including improvements to fire compartmentation within primary escape routes (such as replacing fire doors and ceilings), improvements to lighting (including emergency lighting) and improvements to the fire detection and alarm system. This scheme has been identified following a fire safety risk assessment and will extend to site safety/enabling works to ensure correct safety standards are met. (£650,000 maximum anticipated cost)

A report to cabinet says: “The listed projects will be fully funded from capital maintenance grant, provided by central Government specifically for the purposes of addressing priority building condition issues within local authority-maintained schools.

“The projects will not be reliant on any support from the council.

“The current available budget is just over 2.6m, the total cost of the combined listed schemes equates to 1.31m.

“Therefore, all schemes can be met within the available budget.

“The remaining 1.290m allows for: i. any urgent/emergency work that may arise, ii. other potential schemes that are currently being considered following receipt of further condition funding applications received from schools, iii. the next tranche of applications, as schools have recently been invited to submit new applications at the start of this academic year – prior to the next condition grant allocation.”

The cabinet is recommended to note and support the capital maintenance investments in the local-authority maintained schools – as well as to approve the condition grant funding investment of £650,000 into Thelwall Community Junior School.

Source: Warrington Guardian