Hampshire County Council

Education Buildings Advisory Group

3 January 2003

Executive Member, Education

23 January 2003 Item

Netley Abbey Junior School

Report by the Director of Property, Business and Regulatory Services

1

Summary

1.1

Netley Abbey Junior School was constructed in 1975 and is of a SCOLA design. The school is adjacent to Netley Abbey Infant School and lies in the north of the village of Netley, just south of the County Council owned countryside site of West Wood.

1.2

Following a successful bid under the Seed Challenge Initiative an allocation has been made in the Education Committee's 2002/03 Capital Programme for the provision of specialist teaching accommodation. A contribution will come from the school to enable the construction of two new general teaching classrooms and further funding will come from the Education Committee's 2002/03 Capital Programme contingency.

1.3

The Director of Property, Business and Regulatory Services has progressed the design of the proposed additional accommodation and the purpose of this report is to outline the design proposals and seek approval to the attached design project appraisal.

2.

Scope of the Works

2.1

It is proposed to construct a single storey extension which will adjoin the southern elevation of the existing school building via a link which will form the new main entrance to the school. The new building will be of a linear design and will curve around the existing Millennium Garden in an under-used area to the south of the site. The extension will provide two general teaching classrooms, each with a wet area, a shared area, cloak area and entrance/link to the existing building.

2.2

The existing school has a number of substandard teaching spaces which if suitably modified could provide specialist accommodation for IT and music teaching. It is therefore proposed to undertake internal alterations in the existing school building to provide these specialist teaching spaces. An existing open plan area which is currently used for special need resources will be enclosed and refitted to provide an IT Suite with appropriate benching and cabling. One open plan general teaching classroom (substandard) will also be enclosed and converted to a dedicated music room and a further general teaching classroom will be designated to accommodate a special needs room with a general teaching/resource area. The two general teaching classrooms will be replaced with two new classrooms.

2.3

The proposed link from the existing school to the new accommodation will house the new main entrance to the school and it is proposed to enhance the external appearance of this area by providing new hard paving and low level planting. An existing large tree adjacent to the main entrance will remain and new trees and planting will be added. Further planting will be added between the new and existing buildings and along the south eastern boundary of the site. New pedestrian pathways will be established from the new entrance between the two buildings and beyond to the existing play ground to the west.

3.

Site Development

3.1

The proposed works as outlined above will form the first phase of development at this school. An overall site development plan has been produced and the eventual aim of the school is to enable the provision of specialist teaching classrooms and to provide permanent teaching accommodation to replace temporary buildings on this school site.

3.2

A formal planning application has been submitted to the County Planning Officer which encompasses the whole site development and includes for a further four new classrooms and the removal of three temporary classrooms from this site. The Seed Challenge Initiative funding and contribution from the school will enable the first phase of work, however, the second phase of works will only be realised if suitable capital funding is made available in the future.

4.

Funding and Timing

4.1

An allocation of £139,000, excluding fees, has been made in the Education Committee's 2002/03 Capital Programme from the Seed Challenge Initiative. School funding of £146,000, excluding fees, will be combined with the Seed Challenge funding to enable the construction of two new classrooms and to provide specialist teaching accommodation. Further funding of £35,000, excluding fees, will come from the Education Committee's 2002/03 Capital Programme contingency.

4.2

It is anticipated that tenders will be invited during February 2003 and work will commence on site during April 2003 and be completed during August 2003.

Conclusion

The proposed scheme will provide two general teaching classrooms and three specialist teaching classrooms. Approval is accordingly sought to the attached building design project appraisal.