Triple primary boost for Hamilton
Published Thursday, 30 August 2012
Three new primary schools for Hamilton have been given the green light.
Following a £20million boost approved by the council's Planning Committee, under the authority's Schools Modernisation Programme the rebuild of the following schools will now go ahead:
- St Mark's Primary School
- St Peter's Primary School
- Neilsland Primary School and Woodlands Nursery Centre
The move will mean that more than 550 children will soon be gearing up to move into modern and vibrant surroundings.
Work on the £6.1m plans by Lend Lease to replace St Peter's Primary School is set to start within weeks on the tandem build which will see the school's 99 pupils remain on site for the duration of the build.
They will stay in their current school whilst the new building takes shape, with a projected move in date to the new accommodation of autumn 2013. It will have six classrooms, a gym/dining hall, kitchen, staff room and offices.
The £7.2m rebuild of Neilsland Primary School and Woodlands Nursery Centre, again submitted by Lend Lease, will also kick off shortly with a completion date for autumn 2013. The school's 139 pupils and approximately 100 pre-fives in the nursery centre will also remain on site during the tandem build.
The proposed new two-storey building will incorporate 13 classrooms (3 for the nursery centre), a dining room, kitchen, gym, offices and a general purpose/ITC area. Access - both vehicular and pedestrian - to both schools will be from existing points on Highstonehall Road. Each will also have a multi-use games pitch.
Meanwhile, around the corner in Sherry Drive, the 197 pupils of St Mark's Primary School will be on the move this autumn as they decant to the former Udston Primary School to make way for their new £7m building.
Constructed by the council's Building Services, the new school will be single storey and incorporate 10 classrooms, a general purpose room, ICT room, assembly hall/gym and kitchen/dining hall. A non-floodlit, multi-use games pitch will also be built.
A new access point is also to be created off Sherry Drive, leading to a one-way traffic system with parking, drop-off and bus bay provision.
Councillor Hugh Dunsmuir, the chair of the council's Planning Committee, said: "This is great news for Hamilton and a reflection of the ongoing commitment to providing the best in educational facilities for our young people.
"Our Primary Schools Modernisation Programme has already provided thousands of children with transformed surroundings in which to learn and play, and these plans boost the aim of modernising our entire school estate still further."
