Cost of Earls Barton Primary School expansion to rise by another £700,000

When completed, Earls Barton Primary School will be able to accommodate another 105 pupils in a new teaching block.

The permanent classrooms will replace two mobile units that were previously being used on school grounds.

North Northants Council (NNC) executive members are set to green-light the additional Department for Education (DfE) funding this week, to complete the primary school expansion scheme.

A 300-home development in Earls Barton, led by Redrow and David Wilson Homes, triggered the need for the extension as demand on pupil places increased.

The project will link the school’s infant and junior buildings, which are currently not connected, through a central building running through the grounds.

The scheme will increase the pupil roll from 525 to a maximum of 630 students over time.

In November 2022, NNC approved the £2.8m price tag for the scheme, which was partly funded by developer S106 contributions and money from the DfE.

At a meeting on Thursday (January 16), councillors are expected to increase the project’s budget to £3.6m following a recent review by team leads.

In the executive committee documents, NNC officers explained that the additional cash will cover higher costs of the contract and several unforeseen issues that have arisen on site.

This includes multiple discoveries of unidentified gas and water services, removing significant amounts of contaminated soil and the impact of recent flooding events at the school.

This has resulted in the utilisation of the contingency sum and now leaves the project with little contingency to cover any unidentified risks or additional fees that may occur.

The additional funding of £761.3k will be met by the DfE’s Basic Needs grant. The council has warned that the scheme cannot be completed if costs are not approved.

The report notes that work has been completed on the new car park and the removal of the mobile classrooms. It added that the project is likely to be finished and handed over to the school in summer 2025 if the extra funds are granted.