Turton Belmont primary set for £390,000 expansion upgrade

The cash will be spent to prepare Turton and Belmont Primary School for an influx of pupils when a 110 executive home housing estate at the nearby Springside Works site is complete.

As well as extending the stone buildings the project will see them internally reconfigured.

The scheme is revealed in a report to Thursday's meeting of Blackburn with Darwen's executive board on the authority's capital programmes for schools by education boss Cllr Julie Gunn.

She also asks senior colleagues to authorise and extra £95,000 for the expansion of Blackburn's Witton Park Academy, in Buncer Lane, where the creation of an additional 110 places, at an initial cost of £650,000, is already under way.

Witton Park Academy in Blackburn

Her report also asks for approval for three smaller projects costing a total of £12,500.

They are:

• an increase of £9,000 to the budget at Meadowhead Junior for replacement doors and shutters due to additional asbestos works;
• an extra £1,100 for the Lower Darwen Primary School heating scheme; and
• £2,400 to tackle collapsed drains at Meadowhead Infant School

Cllr Gunn's report says: "Turton and Belmont Primary School is a small rural school with an admission number of 98.

"It is a traditional stone-built village school built in 1898 and has four classrooms, one small multi-use space (typically used for music, drama, professional meetings) and operates mixed age range teaching.

"Turton and Belmont is an area cited for significant housing growth.

"One of the proposed housing developments (Springside Works) is forecasted to produce an increased pupil yield of nine primary-aged pupils.

"There is capacity to extend and remodel the school to accommodate this forecasted increase at a cost of £190,000.

"The current space requires some internal remodelling to create two smaller intervention spaces for the provision of specialist support which is a priority need.

"Space for staff is also compromised, with the only available staff space being in the eaves of the attic with access via a very small, narrow and steep staircase to a staff room that at best can accommodate eight staff.

"The current staffing establishment is 20.

"It is estimated that a further £200,000 would be required to remodel the internal space to create two smaller intervention spaces and extend to the rear of the premises.

"Financially and logistically it would prove sensible to undertake one capital programme to both expand the school and undertake internal remodelling, estimated at £390,000.

"Witton Park Academy are expanding the capacity of the school from an admission number of 240 to 270 per year group to support the borough's increased secondary school place pressures.

"An initial grant of £650k was approved by the council's executive board in March 2023 for the refurbishment of the former Witton City Learning Centre.

"During the programme of refurbishment, issues have presented in relation to fire compartmentalisation and additional work of circa £95,000."