UPDATE: Further Delay To Completion Of Burgess Hill Special School

West Sussex County Council has shared its frustration at the failure of contractors to finish building a Burgess Hill special school in time for the new term.

The news about Woodlands Meed College proved to be yet another delay in a project that has taken 11 years to bring to fruition.

No new date has been set for the opening of the £21.6m college, with youngsters having to move back into the old college buildings which were due for demolition in October.

During a scrutiny committee meeting on Wednesday (September 13), Andrew Edwards, assistant director of property & assets, said:

“This is as frustrating for us as it is parents and pupils and staff at Woodlands Meed.

“We want to get this building transferred across to the school but it has to go across in the right manner and in the right condition.”

Jacquie Russell, cabinet member for children  & young people, learning & skills, told the meeting that it came to light in mid to late August that contractor ISG would not meet its deadline.

She denied that the council had been surprised by the failure, pointing out that she and Mr Edwards had visited the site in early August and been assured that things were on track.

Accusing ISG of being ‘inordinately slow’ when it came to confirming a new date for completion, Mrs Russell added:

“It’s really imperative for the parents, for the children and the staff of the school that the next time we say it’s going to be finished it really is going to be finished and ready for them to move into.

“There may well be some external works that can be done around the movement of the school but the key for us is to make sure that the children can move into it when we say the contractor has said it will be ready for handover.”

Mr Edwards confirmed that the contract between ISG and the council included liquidated and ascertained damages clauses which covered any delay in delivering the school.

He told the meeting that ISG’s performance ‘fell off a cliff’ during the week before the council was advised that the deadline would not be met.

While unwilling to use it as justification for the failure to deliver, he added that the company had had supply chain issues around the availability of both labour and materials.

Both Mr Edwards and Mrs Russell said a new completion date would be announced as soon as possible.

Before that could be done, the council would need to ‘stress test’ any date given to ensure that ISG would be able to meet all the necessary milestones and not allow the date to slip again.

UPDATE:

West Sussex County Council and Woodlands Meed College have agreed a timeline for the next steps towards opening the school’s new facilities.

The handover of the site in Burgess Hill is now set to take place during the Christmas school break to ensure minimum disruption to pupils, staff and teachers. The new timeline was agreed at a meeting between the college and the council, held on Tuesday, 19 September.

Both parties agreed that as the original agreed deadline of late August was not met, a new timeframe outside of term time should be set to ensure completion and minimise disruption.

The new timeline will enable internal works to be completed to a safe and functional level, ready for use by the school’s one hundred children with special educational needs and disabilities.

Pupils will continue to be taught in the existing buildings on site in the meantime while work on the new building continues.

Councillor Jacquie Russell, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, Learning and Skills said:

“Following a meeting with Woodlands Meed, we have worked together to agree a new, achievable handover process, which seeks to minimise additional disruption for staff and students as much as possible.

“I completely understand the disappointment and frustration felt by all connected with the school because of delays to the project. I hope parents will understand that we have put in place a timeline that ensures completion of the new facilities at minimum disruption to pupils.  I am confident that we now have a way forward that will put an end to uncertainty.

“I would like to thank all parents, pupils and staff at Woodlands Meed for their continued patience and understanding. The building of new facilities at Woodlands Meed College represents a significant investment for West Sussex County Council and we want to make sure we deliver a fantastic school that will help many young people achieve their potential for years to come."

The multi-million pound project led by West Sussex County Council will deliver a host of new facilities, including a new hydrotherapy pool, 12 new classrooms and new outside spaces for learning and play.