The proposals, to be considered by the Leader of Hampshire County Council at his decision day on 5 March, are for a programme of roof and window upgrades aiming to benefit schools by improving insulation and so reducing the amount of heating needed in winter, lowering building running costs and carbon emissions; and improving roof rainwater drainage and adding extra ventilation to regulate the temperature of buildings during longer periods of hot weather in the summer.
If approved, work will begin during the school summer holidays later this year to minimise disruption to pupils.
County Council Leader, Councillor Nick Adams-King, said: “These proposed improvements are designed to help improve the learning environments for children and teachers while keeping energy bills down and making buildings as energy efficient as possible, which makes sense economically and environmentally.
“We’re continually working to make school buildings across the county more resilient to climate change and to drive down energy costs. We have an ongoing programme to maintain and modernise buildings by improving insulation, alongside maximising the number of Hampshire’s primary schools with solar panels – now at around 75% of them, and making sure schools are heat-pump ready. I look forward to reviewing the proposals in detail in due course.”
Investment in repair and insulation improvements is proposed for the following schools:
Park Community School, Havant - £640,000
Chalk Ridge Primary School, Basingstoke - £605,000
Locks Heath Infant School, Fareham - £605,000
Orchard Junior School, New Forest - £605,000
Ranvilles Infant School, Fareham - £650,000
Purbrook Infant School, Waterlooville - £640,000
The Vyne School, Basingstoke - £650,000
Funding for the proposed work would be from the Department for Education’s School Condition Allocation and is part of a budget supporting the upkeep and improvement of school buildings and grounds right across the county.
Read the full report here.