Overseeing a complicated new school development led to hours lying awake for one council officer. He and his council rejected the traditional route, deciding instead that the local authority would be the lead partner in the development of a new free school, allowing it to recycle any profit made.
This example, outlined at a round table hosted by The MJ and Morgan Sindall, the construction and infrastructure company, illustrates how councils are having to think smartly about finding and developing inner-city space for quality school buildings.
‘We are taking the risk and we are in the hot seat,’ admits the London officer, who was recently lured back to the local government sector. ‘It’s a means to an end. I don’t think anyone would pretend that you’d want to go into this level of complexity if you had a choice. You would not get into that level of complexity unless you could see the benefits.
‘I’m not aware anyone’s done anything of quite the scale we’re about to do. Nobody wants to be a trendsetter if there are other people out there who have the experience to inform it. There’s been the occasional sleepless night.’
In this instance, the council had been able to find a site to develop. Often, this can be a real challenge, especially in inner city locations with scarce land availability.
One council represented at the round table has had to expand its primary provision by 32 forms of entry since 2008 and things are not going to get any easier.
‘Typically, primaries are easier to expand,’ said one of the officers who has had to develop options to cater to this increase. With secondary, you’re looking at a totally different picture, with specialist teaching, which requires specific provision. Our main issue when expanding secondary space is lack of land. We aren’t blessed with lots of brownfield sites where we can easily build secondary schools.’
The demand in this case has been driven by a combination of an increased birth rate and net immigration to the borough. New homes bring increased demand for school places, meaning population figures and predictions have to be watched closely by councils.
‘The birth rate went through the roof,’ recounts one school places expert. This whole primary cohort is moving through. We have a great need for a new [secondary] school. We simply haven’t got the capacity to give everyone a place. ‘Neighbouring boroughs are getting more and more full. This year we’re OK, just about. Next year we’re going to be putting bulge places in. After that we simply don’t know what’s round the corner.’
Suggestions on tackling this ranged from schools that ‘grow up’ with students, with multi-storey classrooms placed on ascending levels; or layering buildings to create multi-use developments that include housing alongside school provision.
‘We’re seeing some interesting approaches to the challenges posed by lack of space and tight urban environments’ said one Morgan Sindall delegate and drew on examples including a development in Islington.
The project is the result of joint working and partnership between Morgan Sindall and Islington LBC. It includes a residential development, school and learning centre – where parents, social services and students share in the delivery of enhanced education and training to meet community objectives.
However, when a radical solution cannot be reached, bulge classes are often used to plug the gap. It’s widely accepted that this temporary solution is far from ideal – particularly for secondary provision.
What has made things even more difficult is the Government’s free school programme, which structurally finds it hard to match local needs with a national procurement model.
Talking about plans for a new free school in his borough, one delegate explained how schools that were given permission to open were often in the ‘wrong’ places and did not directly address relevant local need.
‘It’s on the wrong site. We’re in dire straits. We should have had a free school open by now. It’s not happened.’
Another delegate said: ‘You often end up with a programme that’s wasted money. If the free school programme is going to carry on then let’s all agree that it needs to consider need.’
With a minority government elected, there is a hope in the sector that this could make policy less ideological.
Already, lacking the political momentum to get through her original plans for a national fair funding formula, education secretary Justine Greening found an extra £2.6bn over two years for schools. Some £280m of this money will come from making the free schools programme more efficient.
With suitable sites in such short supply, one option is remodelling existing buildings to expand provision.
One participant revealed his council was remodelling two listed buildings, which was ‘very expensive and complex’.
‘The school has to stay on the site because there’s no other site available,’ he added.
Another option, particularly when faced with a tight site where a school needs to be built quickly, is modular construction, which has been rebranded because of the former’s negative connotations.
A Morgan Sindall delegate outlined how the perception of modular or off-site construction was rapidly changing, given technological advances, saying: ‘Although historically, modular construction has come with a lot of negative connotations, it’s an area of the industry that has undergone huge transformation.
‘We’ve moved from a bulky, one-size-fits-all solution without any flexibility, to a position where modular solutions are flexible, creative and visually appealing. Most importantly, this is a solution that can now be delivered as a bespoke option that can be seamlessly integrated into existing buildings. Offsite solutions deliver real time and cost efficiencies, which is crucial when you have children and young people desperately waiting on appropriate school place provision.’
The closer the result is to a traditional building, the higher the cost – but, as one delegate put it, sometimes constraint is the mother of invention.
As one officer who was satisfied after trying off-site construction said: ‘If you were teleported into it, were walking around it and weren’t from a building background, you’d struggle to tell the difference.’
One participant from the design sector outlined how a close working relationship between main contractor and architect at an early stage in the design process for both modular and traditional building could reap huge rewards for local authorities.
‘Getting the contractor on board and involved at pre-construction phase means they are able to feed into the discussion and add their considerable insight and experience into the mix.
‘Ideally, we all either want to deliver or be the recipient of brilliant, well-thought-through buildings, where all elements of design and delivery align to create better schools for the same expenditure.’
This was echoed by Morgan Sindall, ‘The main contractor can play a really valuable role in the procurement process and I think that’s something that’s often overlooked by local authorities, to their detriment.
‘All the major construction players have great industry links, incredibly experienced multi-sector teams, and broad networks, all of which mean they’re a useful and creative party to have at the table from the outset.
‘On projects where we’ve worked with the client from the outset – like Tufnell Park School in Islington – we’ve been able to feed into the design process, develop highly-effective, collaborative relationships with the design team and ensure that we’re operating as a linked-up efficient team.’
Even more radical inspiration comes from Scandinavia, where some schools have two shifts of pupils so a site’s capacity can be doubled overnight.
‘As a country, we probably have quite a fixed concept about how we deliver education, with 30 kids in a classroom,’ observed one participant.
However, if the struggle to find school places continues, new solutions will have to be considered – and, with it taking at least two years from finding a suitable site to the end of construction, local authorities need to think about their options sooner rather than later.
That said, with one borough reporting an exodus of 200, mostly Polish, pupils in the year since Brexit, the impact of the referendum will also need to be thrown into the school planning mix.
Morgan Sindall Round Table Participants
Simon Greenwood – principal planner (major developments), Islington LBC
Rob White – commissioning manager for places, Waltham Forest LBC
Adam Whalley – schools programme and commercial manager, Ealing LBC
Michael Coleman – strategic head of education property, Hackney LBC
Richard Dobson – London area director, Morgan Sindall
Sean Bradley – managing director for London and Home Counties, Morgan Sindall
David Givens – partner, Haverstock Architects
Michael Burton – Editorial director, The MJ (chair)
Dan Peters – News Editor, The MJ
Property Partnerships procurement routes
In the age of austerity, local authorities are exploring new funding routes to deliver major projects.
Public/private property partnership joint ventures (PPJV) are increasingly being used as a cost effective and efficient option; unlocking site potential and fulfilling the aspirations of regeneration strategies, particularly on complex development scenarios and/or where portfolios of assets are involved.
Morgan Sindall Group company Morgan Sindall Investments Limited is working with Slough Borough Council and Bournemouth Borough Council in JV development partnerships delivering regeneration projects on council-owned land.
This delivers:
- Flexibility: The value of assets can be captured and recycled
- Profit: An equal share in the profit generated by the joint venture and a flexible basis for profit distributions and return of capital
- Control: Strong and formal governance through a JV board of directors - affording a greater degree of public sector control
- Influence: Ability for the local authority to dictate the way its assets are used; delivering wider social and economic benefits
- Tax: Key advantages – an LLP providing tax transparency
- Speed: Efficient and effective route to market
