Press release: Preferred bidder announced for Lancashire BSF contract
28 February 2006
Lancashire County Council today announced the selection of Catalyst Lend Lease as the preferred bidder of Lancashire's flagship Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme. The initiative will see the launch of a new strategic partnership in East Lancashire to deliver radical improvements in the quality of the school estate over the next 10 years.
The first phase of the partnership will see the provision of Shuttleworth Community College, Burnley Schools' Sixth Form, new primary, nursery and primary special school provision on the Barden Lane Campus and Pendle Vale Community College and Pendle Community High School. The £250m Building Schools for the Future projects will be the largest single investment ever to be made in Burnley and Pendle's education system.
County Councillor Alan Whittaker, Cabinet Member for Education, said: "This announcement is another step along the road to transforming education in Burnley and Pendle and a strong reflection of our commitment to these areas. We are one step closer to seeing these pioneering schools taking shape.
"I am delighted to say that the bids we received for the Burnley and Pendle project were all very high quality, but the one from Catalyst really did stand out. I am very excited by the new learning opportunities that these schools will provide and the way that new technology will link the schools together to further benefit the pupils, parents and wider stakeholders.
"Catalyst have put together a bespoke bid for Burnley and Pendle – we are also pleased that they have worked with the County Council to identify training and employment opportunities for local people and firms.
"There will be a big emphasis on getting parents and pupils involved in developing the plans for the new facilities, making them a central part of local communities."
"I'm proud and privileged that we have this great opportunity to demonstrate our prowess in school building," said Jason Millett, Chief Executive of Catalyst Lend Lease, which will deliver the construction and long-term upkeep of these new schools.
"Catalyst is one of Britain's foremost providers of PFI/partnering services, particularly in health and education, and we look forward to working with Lancashire County Council and all their stakeholders. Our consortium comprises Capita Symonds Group, providing specialist educational design services, Redstone Communications, providing integrated IT systems and financiers Halifax Bank of Scotland.
"We have already built and now run 14 PFI-funded schools in the UK and we have a strong presence in north west England so I know we will be able to offer some attractive and imaginative solutions to Lancashire's long-term education needs. We are excited by the prospect and look forward to starting work soon on the first of this new generation of schools."
Richard Bowker, Chief Executive of Partnerships for Schools, the delivery agency for BSF, said "I would like to congratulate Lancashire County Council on this announcement, which represents their determined commitment to delivering their BSF programme on time. Pupils, teachers and parents in Lancashire can now look forward to a period of sustained improvement and investment in their schools.
"The next stage of this exciting programme is to establish a Local Education Partnership (LEP) between Catalyst, the Council and ourselves later this year, which will take us one more step towards the widescale reorganisation of schools in East Lancashire.
"Four of the BSF Pathfinder and Wave 1 local authorities have now announced their preferred bidder. This is clear evidence that the Building Schools for the Future programme is now gathering unstoppable momentum in securing its objective of transforming the secondary school learning environment in England."
Lancashire County Council and Catalyst will be holding an Open Evening on 16 March from 6pm - 7pm at the James Hargreaves Suite, Turf Moor. Parents, students and members of the community are invited to attend to see details of the proposed new facilities.
CC Whittaker said: “This is a very exciting time for education in Burnley and Pendle and we are keen to show people the outstanding quality of the new schools that will be available for students, staff and members of the community.”
It is proposed that work on the new facilities will begin in autumn this year with the schools opening their doors in September 2008. Building on the next phase of schools will start in autumn 2007 and the final phase in 2008.
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
- Building Schools for the Future (BSF) is the largest single schools capital investment programme for over 50 years. The aim is to rebuild or renew every one of England's 3,500 state secondary schools during the 15-year lifetime of the £40 billion programme.
- Partnerships for Schools (PfS) is the delivery agency for Building Schools for the Future. It was established in April 2004 as a Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB), and is operated and funded under a joint venture between DfES and Partnerships UK.
- The other shortlisted bidders for Lancashire County Council's project were Accent Group Ltd and Paradigm.
MEDIA ENQUIRIES:
Lancashire County Council 01772 530726
martin.crabtree@css.lancscc.gov.uk
Catalyst Lend Lease 020 8271 8570
andrew.bond@eu.bovislendlease.com
