Building work begins on new Daventry primary school

Cllr Alan Hills (front), DDCs community, culture and leisure portfolio holder, marks the start of building work with (from left) DDCs economic, regeneration and employment portfolio holder Cllr Colin Poole, Willmott Dixons building manager Tom Prince, Alex Vicary, technical executive at Crest Nicholson and Rob Saunders, surveyor project manager at DDC.

Daventry District Council (DDC) is building the school using funding contributions from Monksmoor’s housing developer Crest Nicholson as part of its planning obligations on a site within the development.

So far 300 of the 1,000 planned homes have been built, and this triggered the requirement for Crest Nicholson to provide the site and funding for the the single form entry free school.

Councillor Alan Hills, Daventry District Council’s community, culture and leisure portfolio holder, said: "It’s great news that construction work is starting this summer on the new primary school. It will play a valuable and active role at the heart of the new Monksmoor community and bring a further boost to our town’s education offer for residents.

A CGI image of the new Monksmoor school.

"Improving local learning facilities is a priority for our council and we are working with partners on a range of projects towards this goal, including plans to bring the Ofsted ‘outstanding’ rated Sponne School into Daventry and enabling the Parker E-ACT to expand its operations into the former UTC building."

The construction work is being carried out by contractors Willmott Dixon Construction on behalf of the council with the school set to open its doors to its first pupils in September 2018.

Paul Short, operations manager at Willmott Dixon Construction, said: “Both Willmott Dixon and Scape Group are proud to be involved with Daventry District Council once again and the opportunity to provide an excellent educational facility for young people and the community.

"Whilst this is the first Sunesis primary school project commissioned by Daventry District Council, over the last seven years we have successfully delivered over 18,000 school places, all on time and on budget through this proven approach. We know that this project will enrich the lives of many and together we will leave a lasting legacy."

The school will be built to a high environmental standard and include a range of teaching spaces alongside general classrooms and school hall, as well as staff, welfare and administrative rooms and an outside learning area.

Andrew Dobson, managing director of Crest Nicholson Strategic Projects, said: "We have been working hard to establish a long and lasting community in Daventry and the new primary school is the next exciting chapter in this journey.’

"Crest Nicholson and Daventry District Council have been working closely in partnership to ensure the timely delivery of the land to bring forward this new facility which will be at the heart of the community.

"The school along with significant areas of recreational space will serve not only the residents of Monksmoor but also the wider community. We look forward to seeing this project come alive and launch in 2018."

While building takes place, work will continue by Northamptonshire County Council to obtain an academy operator to run the new school.

The Monksmoor development on fields off Welton Lane is one of Daventry’s Sustainable Urban Extensions (SUEs) to accommodate the town’s future growth, and has outlined planning permission for 1,000 new homes, employment and community facilities and a primary school.