The London Borough of Camden has appointed GRAHAM Construction as preferred contractor to undertake the second stage of works to expand Kingsgate Primary School in West Hampstead creating 420 new student places.
The project, valued at £18m, includes the construction of a new two-storey building for students aged four to seven years, a new nursery for children aged three to four years, and a community centre.
The school expansion forms part of a two-phase redevelopment vision for a previous light industrial site on Liddell Road. Phase two of the project is expected to complete at the end of next year to enable the new educational facilities to open for the beginning of the new school year. Phase one involved the site preparation and construction of the new school buildings, access road and landscaping required for the expansion. The main school is located on Kingsgate Road.
Cllr Angela Mason CBE, Camden Council’s Cabinet Member for Children, said: “This is a positive step forward in the development of the Liddell Road site, made possible by Camden’s Community Investment Programme (CIP), our 15 year plan to invest money in schools, homes and community facilities.
“Providing much needed school places is one of our highest priorities for the CIP. The expansion of Kingsgate Primary School to create 420 additional primary places in the north-west of Camden will help ensure we have sufficient school places and provide a new learning environment designed specifically for the youngest children.”
GRAHAM Construction’s London office director, Rob Joyce added: “The expansion of the school will see the creation of new facilities to address the pressing need for more student places within the north-west of Camden. This project offers us the opportunity to bring to the fore, once more, our wealth of experience and knowledge of building and renovating schools and universities as we start work on Kingsgate Primary School.
“The site will pose a number of challenges as it is tightly constrained by the nearby homes and rail network, but we are used to working in these kind of conditions and coming up with solutions to minimise disruption without compromising delivery.”
Project Manager Lead, Julie Crossen, Sweett Group said: “We are pleased to have GRAHAM Construction as part of the project team to deliver Kingsgate Primary School in North West London. We look forward to working closely with them to successfully deliver this extension project for the London Borough of Camden in time for the beginning of the new school year in 2016.”
GRAHAM Construction will also be delivering the enabling works in parallel which will include demolition of existing industrial units, construction of a retaining wall, and tree removal.
The development is being funded by new residential and business space development on the same site, through Camden Council’s CIP. The land for these elements will be sold by the Council, with planning consent, following completion of the school works.
