Client: Staffordshire County Council Location: Tamworth Value: £6.5m
Design & Build
Construction of a new one form (plus) entry primary and nursery school, delivered on behalf of Staffordshire County Council, in partnership with Entrust and procured through the Constructing West Midlands Framework.
The 1,500 square metre, two-storey school comprises seven classrooms, a separate nursery and practical area, staff offices and an indoor sports and dining hall, with a fully fitted catering kitchen, featuring acoustic panelling.
Externally, the site comprises new pedestrian and vehicular ways, with landscaping works forming multiple outdoor play areas and an extensive playing field.
The school was designed using the Entrust ‘Touchstone’ model, which standardises design and specification to ensure build efficiencies, optimal learning environments and the capacity for future expansion. The energy efficient design ensures optimal daylight and natural ventilation alongside high levels of insulation – to contribute to the council’s commitment to Climate Change and the Net Zero Agenda.
Located within a new housing estate, with many homes still under construction, G F Tomlinson established regular liaison with the adjacent house builder. Site access and egress was safely co-ordinated, and delivery schedules shared to avoid potential congestion and disruption to residents.
Regular newsletters were issued to local residents, with details of project progress and planned activities, along with site management contact details for any queries to be directed to.
Works were planned to reduce risk of potential disruption for neighbours. For example, G F Tomlinson used retarding admixtures to slow down concrete setting time, allowing the pour to be undertaken at the start of the working day rather than at an inappropriate time.
In the lead up to project completion, G F Tomlinson welcomed parents/guardians, pupils, teachers and staff onto site for a series of site tours at the new school, so they could become familiar with the building layout and raise any queries to the team.
The scheme provided 85% project spend within a 40-mile radius of site, 44-apprentice weeks on site and 10-pupil site tours for over 150-children.
The environmental credentials for the scheme included 99% of all site waste being recycled. Existing soil on site was tested and treated, allowing for 8,300 cubic metres to be re-used for the large playing field. 3,000 cubic metres of soil was also transported to another Staffordshire County Council site for re-use. This minimised waste and the need to transport new materials to site, whilst also reducing client costs by £57,000.
In addition, 5.7 tonnes of waste wood was collected from site by Community Wood Recycling, a social enterprise network, which uses wood collections to help reduce carbon and create jobs, training and volunteering opportunities for local disadvantaged people.
The project was completed on time, ready for the new academic year. The facility helps to meet local demand for additional primary school and nursery places in the Tamworth area, with the school having the capacity to expand to 315 places in the future, in line with the demand for places generated by further housing growth.
“The real strength of G F Tomlinson is the staff. The communication from everyone we worked with was informative and reassuring and the site management team were excellent. They were quick to respond to queries and always made time for us to access the site, which helped keep us up to date with the project.
Working with G F Tomlinson was an easy and smooth process and both staff and pupils love their new school. The quality and spec of the build is impressive, and I would recommend G F Tomlinson to others and thank them for the wonderful building they have given to the children of Dunstall Park.” – Natalie Harris, Head of School, Dunstall Park Primary School
