Hampshire County Council

Executive Member - Education Item 9

23 January 2002

Sherborne St John C E Primary School, Basingstoke

Report of the Director of Property, Business and Regulatory Services

1.

Summary

1.1

Sherborne St John CE Primary School is a small Victorian School located in the centre of the village of Sherborne St John which lies to the north east of Basingstoke. The site is jointly owned by Hampshire County Council and the National Trust. The school is currently attended by 108 pupils and has one double temporary classroom on site which is used for general teaching. The temporary unit is in a very poor condition and a bid has been made under the New Deal for Schools (NDS) Initiative to replace the unit with permanent teaching accommodation.

1.2

The NDS bid was successful and an allocation of £180,000, excluding fees, has been included in the Education Committee's 2001/02 Capital Programme for the provision of replacement accommodation.

1.3

Following the undertaking of a cost exercise for the proposed work, the Director of Property, Business and Regulatory Services has concluded that, in order to realise the proposals to provide permanent replacement accommodation and make further necessary improvements to external areas of the site, a further allocation of £100,000, excluding fees, be made towards this scheme from the Policy and Resources 2001/02 NDS funding. The additional funding has come from excess finance available from another NDS scheme and this course of action has been agreed by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES).

1.4

The purpose of this report is to outline the proposals to Members and seek approval to the attached building design project appraisal.

2.

Scope of the Works

2.1

It is proposed to construct a single storey extension to the southern elevation of the existing building to provide two classrooms, each with a store and wet area, a new main entrance, corridor with cloak facilities and a lobby. The extension will be constructed on an area of the existing hard playground which will be re-provided elsewhere on site as part of these proposals.

2.2

Internal alterations to the existing building will comprise the reconfiguration of the library and an existing corridor to create a new library. A new internal corridor will be formed to link the new entrance to the school office and existing classrooms and also to the proposed new teaching areas.

2.3

To the east of the new extension the existing porch, a small brick hut and a corrugated metal sheet shed will be demolished. The new entrance will have a canopy over and hard paving will be provided to the east and south elevations of the new accommodation which will create a defined entrance point to the school and enable level access to the new classrooms and main entrance. The paving will continue along the southern elevation of the new extension to the western boundary of the site and an existing gate and fence will be repositioned to enclose the new paved area. The paving will also extend to the south and around an existing mature Horse Chestnut tree to provide a new tree seat. Further to the south an existing apple tree and an area of grass will be removed and replacement hard playcourt will be provided. A PE equipment store will be constructed to the south of the new playground.

2.4

Located to the south of the existing building on an area of the school playing field is a double temporary classroom which will be removed from site upon completion of the proposed new extension and the area will be re-seeded.

2.5

At the request of the school additional items of work will be included as part of this scheme; an Accessible WC adjacent to the library, an IT area within the library, a new quiet / reading room, the creation of a new pedestrian only access point to the north-east of the site and repositioning of the school gate and fence in this area.

3.

Funding and Timing

3.1

Funding of £180,000, excluding fees, will come from the Education Committee's 2001/02 Capital Programme (NDS), £100,000, excluding fees, will come from the Policy and Resources Committee's 2001/02 Capital Programme (NDS) and the school have made a contribution of £44,000 for the additional works as outlined above. This funding gives a combined total of £324,000 for this project.

3.2

Due to protracted negotiations with the National Trust who own the property and the requirement to spend the NDS funding within DfES timescales it is proposed that the project be negotiated with a preferred contractor. It will also be beneficial to discuss buildability and scheme development with a reliable contractor, as the site access is tight. The Director of Property, Business and Regulatory and the Chief Executive have agreed this course of action and it is anticipated that negotiations will be concluded during January 2002. Following a successful negotiation the scheme will commence during March 2002 and be completed during August 2002.

Conclusion

The proposed scheme will result in the provision of permanent replacement teaching accommodation, the removal of temporary buildings and improvements to the site access, pedestrian and pupil play areas, thus providing an improved environment for pupils. Approval is accordingly sought to the attached building design project appraisal.

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - background papers

The following documents disclose facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and has been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report and attached appraisal.

NB the list excludes:

1. Published works.

2. Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act.

TITLE FILE

Building Management System reports, Property, Management &

Site surveys and investigations, Information File - PB&R

Architect's plans.

EME0102b