Friday, 21 June 2013

Press Release: Work to begin on new £24.5M Campus

Computer generated view of the proposed Wyre Forest School



A news article appeared on 20 June in the Kidderminster Shuttle (link above) and also the Worcester News based on our latest press release. The text is below.

A NEW multi-million pound super-campus that will be the first of its kind in the UK will begin to take shape from next month. The £24.5million Habberley Learning Campus in Kidderminster, designed by Worcestershire County Council architects, will accommodate pupils from Wyre Forest Special School, Baxter College and St John's CE Primary School.

It will be one of the UK’s most significant low energy school project and its buildings are the most energy efficient ever designed by WCC, using about 75 per cent less energy than the national average.
Speller Metcalfe will build the new campus, which includes a new special school for 220 pupils, a new 13 lab science block, a shared Early Years hub, weekly residential accommodation for 16 pupils and improvements to St John’s CE Primary School.

Councillor John Campion, the council’s cabinet member with responsibility for transformation and commissioning, said: “We are delighted that this outstanding project is about to start on site. In addition to the benefits for the local community, this is a very significant project for the UK because of the exceptionally low energy requirements of the new buildings. The architects have designed the buildings to minimise the heating and cooling demand and to provide excellent indoor air quality. It’s a very impressive project and we're proud to be able to provide this for our communities.”

Councillor Liz Eyre, cabinet member responsible for children and families at WCC, said: “This is great news for pupils and families and means that Worcestershire will have its first fully integrated education facility that brings mainstream and special school pupils together to use the same facilities. The project will cater for pupils aged between two and 19. Although the facilities are mainly for the pupils of the schools on site, the all-weather sports pitch, hydrotherapy pool and sports hall will be available for use by the public.”

Adrian Speller, environmental manager for Speller Metcalfe, said: “We have worked collaboratively with Worcestershire County Council using the latest three dimensional BIM computer modelling software to achieve this very low energy design. We are also proud to be able to contribute to the local economy, as over 80 per cent of the materials and labour will be purchased from within Worcestershire."

The Habberley Learning Campus will be built in stages, starting in July with the special school, the science block and the boarding house, followed by the all-weather sports pitch and the hub. The work is set to be completed by Easter 2015. The headteachers of the three schools have worked with the architects to develop the site, where facilities and learning opportunities will be shared by all three schools.

Friday, 14 June 2013

Work on New Campus to Commence in July




We are pleased to confirm that Contract Terms have now been agreed with Speller Metcalfe (Malvern) Ltd to commence works on the Habberley Learning Campus in July 2013. The first buildings to be built will be the new Wyre Forest School and its Weekly Boarding Unit, and the new Science Block. These will be followed next year by the Early Years Hub and the Vocational Hub. Works will commence with site set up and earth moving works, followed by the construction fo the individual buildings.

More information will follow via this blog, press releases, letters to local residents and a formal project launch on site.

Pictured here is a computer generated image of the Hydrotherapy Pool for the new Wyre Forest Special School.