The next phase of delayed school refurbishments in Belle Vale are to move a step closer.
Last year, a pot of more than £1m was allocated for the upgrade of Norman Pannell Primary School in the ward over a four month period by Liverpool Council’s cabinet. Upon completion of those two phase works, plans for the next stage of the development are now underway.
A planning application has been submitted to the local authority for the siting of three temporary classrooms and two contractor welfare blocks at the Brownbill Bank location. According to a design and access statement put forward with the proposals, the works could take up to two years.
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The document said: “The application is for the installation of three modular buildings comprising three classrooms and two contractor welfare blocks. They will remain on site for approximately two years for the duration of internal refurbishment works which will be carried out in phases on behalf of Liverpool Council.
“They will be situated on the south playground area.” The initial construction work was slated to begin in 2021 but as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic and illness, progress was delayed, according to a local authority report. It said that additional funding of £750,000 for the second phase of works will be added to an already agreed budget from the 2021/22 financial year.
The school building on Brownbill Bank was originally constructed in 1970 with the junior block rebuilt in 1994 following fire damage. Following a condition survey report dated 2013 various condition works were identified.
A feasibility study was commissioned by contractors Kier Construction, design and cost management consultants to Liverpool Council, recommending a phased approach to refurbishment four years prioritising the heating works initially which were completed in two phases between 2018 - 2019. The temporary classrooms will be used to “decant” pupils into according to a cabinet report.
The classrooms measure at 10.7m x 7.5m and are approx. 3.2m high. There will be no additional staff required for the temporary buildings to operate.
According to the application, the cabins will be delivered via crane on the south facing elevation of Brownbill Bank by taking out a section of boundary fencing to allow the cabins through and then the boundary will be closed off and reinstated once the delivery is complete. A date has not been set for when the plans will be considered by officers or the local authority’s planning committee.
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