£3.5m bid for new school buildings in Chorley and Leyland
7:00am Monday 15th October 2012 in News
By Chris Gee, Reporter
Headteachers in Chorley and Leyland are being given the chance to revive rebuilding ambitions for their ageing buildings.
County council education chiefs look set to authorise the creation of a £3.5million fund which would back projects aimed at ensuring classrooms and support services were ‘fit for purpose’.
Under the terms of the anticipated new county council fund, governing bodies will be able to bid for plans with a price tag of between £100,000 and £500,000.
Each bid would be assessed by an expert panel over the winter months and a decision announced by county council cabinet member for education, Coun Susie Charles, next March.
Eddie Mather, the county council’s schools capital strategy head, said: “In the past couple of years, we've spent over £26m on boilers, electrics and the external structure of schools, so they're warm and weathertight.
“The cabinet member will now consider giving secondary schools the chance to tell us about their ideas for updating the inside of their buildings.
“This could be labs, classrooms and other areas which have been neglected and where refurbishment would make a real difference to lessons. The aim would be to help as many as we can.
“We've had to prioritise spending on expanding primary schools recently, because of the rising birthrate – something we can't control – so it's good to be able to consider something for secondary schools.”
