Superschool passes 'green' test

Pendle Vale College, part of the Building Schools for the Future re-vamp of education in Burnley and Pendle, will have energy saving technology including a boiler fuelled by woodchips and rainwater harvesting, when it opens in September 2008.

Other green technologies will include ground source heat pumps, solar panels for domestic water heating, combined heat and power pumps to heat the swimming pool and a natural ventilator system for classrooms, making it one of the most energy efficient educational buildings in Britain, according to council bosses.

Contractors T Jolly Services Ltd, of Preston, won one of the biggest contracts, worth £2.5 million contract, to supply and install all of the heating, ventilation domestic water and plumbing systems at Pendle Vale, on the site of the former Walton High School, Nelson.

George Jackson, managing director of T Jolly, said: "This is an important project for our company and we are proud to be a part of the construction team that will be delivering a high quality, energy efficient building that will benefit the local community and the environment for years to come."

Marcus Johnstone, Lancashire County Council's cabinet member for children and young people, said: "This highly skilled electrical and mechanical work is at the heart of the county's economy.

"I am delighted that our investment in a better education for the children of Burnley and Pendle is supporting employment across the county."

Five businesses in Lancashire and the North West won the £11 million-worth of contracts in the first wave of the Lancashire Buildings Schools for the Future programme.

The contractors will be working on the Burnley Campus, Pendle Vale College and Shuttleworth College projects.

The full building programme for the first wave of the BSF scheme involves seven colleges for 11 to 16-year-olds, a sixth form centre, four special schools, a primary school, a nursery school, a faith centre and a public library.