Construction is due to start next summer on the planned new school and community hub in Bargeddie.
The new standalone building for St Kevin’s Primary is set to be constructed at the cleared location of the former Drumpark School, with main contractors, architects and engineers having been appointed for the project.
Now a public consultation event is taking place this week to hear from the community and receive feedback on the plans to date.
St Kevin’s currently shares a 15-year-old joint campus on Langmuir Road with Bargeddie Primary, but a second building is needed to provide additional places for both schools, which are at capacity following years of significant housebuilding in the area.
Councillors on North Lanarkshire’s education committee agreed in 2019 to construct a new 242-capacity building for St Kevin’s at the empty Coatbridge Road site, with Bargeddie Primary then able to expand to occupy all of the current campus.
The new primary school will also incorporate out-of-hours community facilities, as part of the local authority’s wider project to create shared-use hubs in towns and localities; while the Bargeddie building will be home to the area’s nursery.
Preferred contractor Kier Construction said in an online project newsletter that they “propose to commence works on the site in summer 2023, with an expected completion date of mid-2024”.
It added: “The St Kevin’s facility will offer a hub incorporating generous indoor and outdoor learning facilities alongside a large gym hall and impressive multi-use games area; [it] will provide high-quality indoor and outdoor sports facilities along with a dynamic landscaped playground.
“This development will support the needs and aspirations of St Kevin’s pupils along with the wider Bargeddie community – the modern learning, teaching and community hub will deliver 21st-century facilities [and] allow for a more spacious community facility to meet the needs of North Lanarkshire’s growing population.”
A consultation event will take place at the current St Kevin’s building this Thursday, October 6, from 3pm to 7pm; comments can be made using the feedback forms which will be available throughout or by emailing HubDeliveryTeam@northlan.gov.uk within two weeks.
Pupils, staff and parent council members have taken part in engagement sessions feeding into the design process, and Kier say: “We will continue to offer workshops to ensure the creative visions of our community are used as inspiration for the new hub.”
Current project work includes surveys of the site’s ecology, trees and habitat; while transport and traffic assessments are then to be carried out to form the basis of the formal planning application to North Lanarkshire Council.
Road concerns were one of the main themes of the original consultation carried out three years ago, with families and community representatives raising concerns about the safety of walking routes alongside the busy A89.
There were calls for safety devices including railings along the main road, speed restrictions, traffic calming measures and crossing patrollers for the walking routes to the new building.
Kier are working with architects Stallan Brand, structural engineers Curtins and mechanical engineers RSP on the new building;
The construction firms plans to create eight new construction jobs including two modern apprenticeships, plus 30 work placements, 100 training opportunities and support for local contractors and small businesses, saying the company has “a proven track record of delivering measurable impacts [and] the community will benefit throughout the build of the St Kevin’s hub”.
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