Schools investment
scheme success
THE Liverpool Schools Investment
Programme created by Mayor Joe Anderson has transformed 23 Schools and
created 2,000 construction jobs. That is the finding of a report looking at the impact of the
scheme, which was set up to rescue Liverpool's Building Schools for the
Future programme when it was scrapped by the Government in 2010. The funding came from a combination of City Council and
Government money, and has been used largely to improve Secondary and Special
Schools in the City. The report that has been presented to the Cabinet, in
Liverpool City Council, on Friday 16 June 2017,
showed that since 2012, it has delivered ₤180 million of investment,
including:-
►
16 completely new Schools.
►
3 significant new builds.
►
4 extensions/new blocks.
Around 62% of the spending on the schemes was spent with
Liverpool firms, rising to 74% across Merseyside, thanks to a strong
partnership between the Council and contractors Kier, Morgan Sindall and
Willmott Dixon to maximise the economic impact. In addition to the 2,000 construction jobs, around 200
apprenticeships have also been created, giving young people vital skills and
experience to develop a career in the industry.
Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson said:- "When the
Government scrapped Building Schools for the Future in 2010, it would have
been easy to wring our hands and blame it all on them. Instead, we invited
our family of Schools to come together and work with us on devising an
alternative plan. What we have delivered since then is nothing short of
remarkable. In the space of 5 years we have rebuilt or improved 23
Schools, transforming education for thousands of current and future
generations of Schoolchildren. Along the way, we have made sure that local firms benefited
from the contracts, securing existing jobs and creating new ones, and also
helped develop the next generation of construction workers through
apprenticeships. It is a fantastic achievement, 1 which is truly
transformational and of which the whole City can be tremendously proud."
Approximately ₤45 million was raised from the sale of School
sites that became vacant, helping offset the cost of the programme. The scheme also created 10 new housing sites on which 650
homes have been built to meet demand for new properties, generating valuable
Council Tax income for the local authority, which can be reinvested in
essential services. Assistant Mayor and Cabinet Member for Schools and Education
Cllr Nick Small added:- "Our investment in state of the art new
School
building lays very solid foundations to ensure every child in our City gets
the best education. Teachers working in the Schools that have benefited and the
children at these Schools tell me that improved School buildings promotes
excellent teaching and learning."
The Council will receive a windfall of ₤650,000, each year, for
the next 25 years, in lease payments.
The Schools to benefit from the programme
are:-
Full new build...
Notre Dame (Sept
2013)
Archbishop Beck
(Sept 2014)
St John Bosco
(Sept 2014)
Millstead Primary
(Sept 2014)
Bank View (Sept
2015)
St Hilda's (Sept
2015)
Archbishop Blanch
(Sept 2015)
New Park Primary
(Sept 2015)
Northway Primary
(Sept 2015)
St Julie's (Sept
2017)
Redbridge (Sept
2015)
Aigburth High
(Sept 2016)
Palmerston (Phase
1 Sept 2013 and Phase 2 April 2017)
Birtenshaw (Jan
2018)
New Heights (Jan
2018)
St Cuthbert's
(Early 2019)
Significant new
build...
Holly Lodge (Jan
2015)
SFX (Sept 2015)
Bellerive (June
2016)
New build
extension/new blocks...
Abbot's Lea (Sept
2013)
Sandfield Park
(Sept 2015)
St Margaret's
(Sept 2016)
Primary Education
Centre (mid 2018)
