Construction has begun at Glenvale Park in Wellingborough to build two educational facilities for up to 495 children, a community centre and play park.
Work is underway to provide a school for up to 420 pupils and a nursery for up to 75 children to the 3,000 home sustainable urban extension to the north of Wellingborough in Northamptonshire.
The project also includes providing children who will be living in the sustainable area with a new children’s play park facility.
The “ground-breaking” ceremony celebrating the start of construction marks a key point for the delivery of the development’s masterplan. Members of North Northants Council, Wellingborough Town Council, Homes England, and local community groups attended the ceremony.
Cllr Valerie Anslow, deputy mayor of Wellingborough Town Council, was a special guest at the celebration where she cut the first piece of grass and said a few words to mark the occasion.
“The ground-breaking event was a great way to celebrate work beginning on the primary and nursery schools at Glenvale Park,” she said. “It fills me with tremendous pride to be able to kick-off these works which will bring additional school spaces to Wellingborough and be a place of inspiration for future generations. I’m looking forward to seeing how the schools progress in the coming months ahead of their opening in 2023.”
Mark Best, director of Midtown Capital, Managing Partners of Glenvale Park LLP, added: “We’re delighted that the first works have commenced on the two educational facilities at Glenvale Park, marking a significant milestone in the development’s progress as well as delivering on our commitment to generating social value for the Wellingborough area.
“The primary and nursery schools will become a space to learn for children living at Glenvale Park and beyond for many years to come. We’re excited to welcome the first pupils and their families to the schools in 2023.”
GSSArchitecture, Kettering-based architects and lead consultants, handle the design and delivery of the schools with Lindum Group as the driving force behind construction.
Tom Jagger, partner and project architect at GSSArchitecture, said: “It’s fantastic to see works start on site at Glenvale Park. The new primary school, community centre, nursery and play equipment will provide a key hub for the new community, offering purpose-built facilities that can enable the delivery of excellent learning opportunities for local children and benefit the wider community.”
Managing Director at Lindum Group, Darren King, said: “We have now started working on the primary school and another team from Lindum will start on the nursery in three weeks.
“To secure both contracts for the nursery and primary school will create a unique, but interesting situation for us, in the sense that we will have two separate teams working on projects that are right next to each other.
“This is an excellent opportunity for Lindum to help to expand and develop the community in our local area. I am very much looking forward to seeing this project completed and welcoming this new community into the already thriving area.”
Find out more about Glenvale Park here.