Issue details

Proposed decision

APPROVE, £1.4 million capital contribution to provide 2 FE core facilities at Water Meadows Primary School to the DfE School’s rebuild programme of the 1 FE school.

Reason for the decision

The DfE identified Water Meadows Primary School to be included in the Schools Rebuild Programme and is rebuilding the 1FE School. As the school has been identified to be expanded by KCC in the Kent Commissioning Plan in response to new housing developments in the vicinity, KCC has the opportunity to contribute funding to enable the inclusion of 2FE core facilities within the rebuild. This will future proof the school site and provide infrastructure capable of supporting a future expansion should additional pupil places be required. Delivering these facilities as part of the rebuild represents better value for money and minimises cost, disruption and inefficiency for retrofitting the infrastructure at a later date.

Background

Water Meadows is a 1FE Primary school on the outskirts of Canterbury City and is part of The Stour Academy Trust. It was successful in a bid to the DfE to be rebuilt under the Schools Rebuild Programme.

The Kent Commissioning Plan identifies Water Meadows Primary school to be expanded by 1FE to meet the needs of pupils generated from new housing developments adjacent to the school and in the planning group. The expected primary pupil yield from new developments in the planning group is 277 new primary pupils. A 1FE expansion provides 210 places across Year R to Year 6.

The new housing development of Land North of Hersden CA/22/01845 (800 homes) is adjacent to Water Meadows School and within the planning application includes 0.8h of land to expand the school by 1FE. The primary pupil yield for this development is 207 pupils. The application is currently awaiting a decision by Canterbury City Council. The decision is expected shortly and the s106 is in draft form.

Options (other options considered but discarded)

Option 1: Proposal being progressed)

Contribute £1.4m to enable the DfE to incorporate 2FE core facilities within the rebuild – this is the recommended proposal to be progressed as it future proofs the site and reduces cost and disruption to any future expansion should additional places be required. Water Meadows was identified as the appropriate site as it is adjacent to the new housing development.

Option 2: (not recommended)

Allow the DfE to rebuild the school as a standard 1FE school without the enhanced core facilities. Any future expansion would likely require additional works to a newly rebuilt school, resulting in greater cost, disruption and inefficiencies.

How the proposed decision supports the Council’s Strategic Statement

Aim 3: Supporting residents that needs help.

Aim 4: Building better communities. Ensure that the infrastructure needs of the county to support economic growth and quality of life are fully in place.

This project will ensure that there are sufficient school places in the local area and the school infrastructure is appropriate to mitigate the new housing developments.

Financial Implications

The DfE are leading on this project, and most costs are expected to be met directly by the DfE through the Schools Rebuild Programme. The estimated total cost of capital contributions from KCC to the DfE for this project is estimated to be up to £1,400,000.00 and includes c£1.1m of base build costs and c£0.3m of external works and associated infrastructure. The project is at design Stage 3 with the planning application submitted to Canterbury City Council. The determination date is mid-August. The budget includes a risk allowance of 15%.

Capital costs for this contribution are expected to be met from through the Basic Need Capital Programme, which is funded from a range of sources including Basic Need Grant, Developer Contributions, Prudential Borrowing (agreed for historic schemes) and other specific grants. For this specific project, KCC currently holds banked developer contributions totalling £1,020,300 towards Water Meadows Primary School 1 FE expansion. A Community Infrastructure Levy bid has been submitted to Canterbury City Council for the remaining £379,700; we are awaiting the outcome of the bid, and this is expected in October. If the bid is unsuccessful the wider Basic Need budget (currently £148m) will be required to fund the difference. This is expected to be manageable within the overall budget.

Further developer contributions are being sought for the future 1FE expansion.

There are no revenue implications for this design. However, there is a risk that if this project does not go ahead any abortive costs will need to be transferred to revenue.