£18.5m schools shake-up
PLAN IS TO BUILD TWO INSTITUTIONS AND EXPAND OTHERS
AN £18.5m transformation of four Newcastle schools could take a major step forward next week.
City council bosses are set to back plans to build two new schools in the outer west and north of Newcastle, while expanding another two.
The multi-million-pound plans will see a new first school constructed on the Newcastle Great Park for the Broadway East First School to relocate to and a new site also built for Simonside Primary School.
Kingston Park Primary School and Gosforth Park First School will also be expanded and remodelled thanks to the new investment, which councillors are expected approve at a cabinet meeting on Monday.
Newcastle City Council’s cabinet member for education and skills, Coun Nora Casey, said: “It’s vitally important that as the city continues to grow we have fit-for-purpose schools that give our children and young people the best possible start in life and a modern learning environment so they can enjoy their childhood and reach their full potential.
“More than £18m is a significant investment, which meets a promise we made over two years ago to provide extra primary and secondary school places in the west and north of the city.
“These are exciting plans and I look forward to seeing the schools taking shape.”
Cabinet must approve the procurement of contractors for the projects next week, which the local authority says is “necessary” if the programme is not to slip behind schedule. The redevelopment plans have been in the works since 2016 and planning applications for the new builds are expected to be submitted next month, with building work completed in 2020.
In November 2017, the council approved the relocation and expansion of Broadway East First School to the Great Park to provide the new first school in Cell A of the massive housing site.
The existing school is located on site with Gosforth Park First School and it is proposed that when Broadway East First moves to Great Park their building will be remodelled to accommodate the expansion of Gosforth Park First.
Civic centre bosses are also expected to press ahead with the expansion of Gosforth Central Middle School from September 2020 to meet the increased need for school places resulting from expanding the first schools, and could approve the commissioning of design work on Monday.
The £18.5m investment will come from a combination of contributions from housing developers, the Government’s Housing Infrastructure Fund and city council cash.