Multi-million pound plans to deliver 12 new schools in Liverpool are set to be approved by the Mayor’s Cabinet.
It is one of the key pledges of Mayor Joe Anderson, and will see £135 million invested between now and 2017 on a dozen primary, secondary and special schools.
A further £34.2 million will be spent on major investment of other schools most in need that have not previously benefited from investment through PFI or Building Schools for the Future – bringing the total spend to £169 million.
Mayor Joe Anderson said: “Our children deserve the very best education, and this investment will deliver huge improvements in the quality of the buildings they are taught in.
“We have already seen the first spade going in the ground at Notre Dame, and over the next few years thousands of pupils will benefit from the investment we are making.
“I am also determined that we also make sure the project benefits local firms and their workforce as well and we are working to make sure that these new schools are truly made in Liverpool.”
Work is already well underway on the first of the schools – Notre Dame Catholic College in Everton (pictured) – which is set to open in September 2013.
The other 11 schools to benefit are:
- Archbishop Beck Secondary – start on site at former Long Lane Depot in Fazakerley in April 2013 and opening September 2014
- St John Bosco Secondary and Our Lady of St Swithin’s Primary in Croxteth – rebuild on existing St John Bosco site starting in April 2013, opening September 2014
- Archbishop Blanch Secondary near the city centre – rebuild on new site (TBC), opening September 2015
- St Hilda’s Secondary in Aigburth – rebuild on new site (TBC), opening September 2015
- Holly Lodge Secondary in West Derby – rebuild on rear of existing site, opening September 2015
- Bank View Special School in Fazakerley – rebuild on existing site, opening September 2015
- New Park Primary in Kensington – rebuild on existing site, opening September 2016
- Northway Primary in Childwall – rebuild on existing site, opening September 2016
- SFX Secondary and St Julie’s Secondary in Woolton – relocation of St Julies to former Lower Lee site on Beaconsfield Road with new buildings at SFX – opening September 2017. St Julie’s and SFx will remain as separate schools
The Department for Education have also granted funding through the Priority Schools Building Programme which will enable Redbridge and Aigburth High Schools (special schools) to be rebuilt.
Councillor Jane Corbett, Cabinet member for education, said: “This is fantastic news for schools in Liverpool.
“We have come a long way since the Government axed wave six of the Building Schools for the Future programme was cancelled in 2010.
“By working creatively with our schools we have been able to come up with alternative proposals which will transform education for thousands of pupils.”
The city council is aiming for 60 percent of the spending on the projects to be made with firms employing labour from Liverpool, rising to 70 percent across Merseyside.
It is hoped that up to 400 apprenticeships will be created, with a minimum of 250 through the life of the programme.
Councillor Malcolm Kennedy, Cabinet member for regeneration, said: “Schools are at the heart of life in a community, and can play a major role in the regeneration of an area by attracting families and providing community facilities.
“We are determined to make sure that the investment we are making delivers benefits not just for school pupils but also drives improvements in the areas in which they are based.”
Funding for the project is coming from a mix of capital funding, receipts from the sale of surplus school sites and council resources.
The report will be considered by the Cabinet on Monday 19 November 2012.
