Work set to start on new Primary School

4 June 2009

Work is due to start later this month on a new Telford and Wrekin primary school to serve Lightmoor Village - an 800 home development which is modelled on Birmingham’s famous Bournville Village.

The school and housing development at Lightmoor Village is the result of a partnership between Telford & Wrekin Council, the Homes and Communities Agency and the Bournville Village Trust.

The 210 pupil school - designed by the Architecture, Landscape and Building Section of Telford & Wrekin Council - will open at the beginning of the academic year in September 2010 and will have seven class bases, social play areas and a multi use games area.

There will also be facilities within the school building that benefit the new community at Lightmoor, being served by separate external accesses.

These will include meeting rooms, a hall with potential for multi faith worship, indoor sports and recreation facilities and also changing rooms for external pitches.

The school, which is being built by Clegg Construction, will take 12 months to build followed by a period of fitting out for initial occupation.

Building the school is seen as the next major step in the creation of Lightmoor Village, which is being developed in the spirit of Birmingham’s Bournville Village – a world-famous example of an urban community created by the founder of Bournville Village Trust, George Cadbury.

The school is an integral part of the 800 home development’s green and village centre, which will also be serviced by facilities such as shops, a family pub and a restaurant.

The village will also have 54 acres of nearby landscaped open space for public recreation and leisure and will promote high quality urban design and construction methods, together with the highest ecological and environmental standards.

Clive Jones, Telford & Wrekin Council’s Head of Building Schools for the Future, Resources and Social Regeneration, said: “The start of work on the new school is the latest exciting step in the creation of what will become a very special part of the borough of Telford and Wrekin.

“Lightmoor Village is set to become a wonderful place to work, learn and live and the school is important for the overall design and functionality at the heart of the village.”

Peter Murray, project director for the Homes and Communities Agency, said: “This is an important milestone in the development of Lightmoor Village as the school is critical to creating a thriving centre for the new community.

“The strong collaborative approach between the HCA, Telford & Wrekin Council, the Bournville Village Trust and the developer partners is helping to transform Lightmoor into a sustainable high quality place to live.”

John McNulty of Bournville Village Trust, said: “We are delighted that the Lightmoor school will provide welcome community facilities, which will be managed by our experienced staff at Bournville Village Trust, working alongside local residents."