Huge renovation of Biggleswade special school planned - but councillor says it's a 'shadow' of original scheme
A £46m upgrade for Ivel Valley School and College in Biggleswade would represent the biggest Central Bedfordshire Council investment in its history with the local authority’s own money, a meeting heard.
A consultation process is to be held to consider how best to revamp the site, while expanding it on an adjacent area of land in the town. The current school site in Hitchmead Road is in desperate need of renovation.
Several options were presented in a report to CBC’s executive committee to decide how much should be spent on the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) project and whether a complete redevelopment is required.
Independent Leighton Linslade West councillor and executive member for children’s services Steve Owen explained: “The report explored options for delivering extra SEN places, and a heavily modernised and more manageable school.
“There are voices which argues for a complete new school, which isn’t £66m. It’s now £78m. The council’s budget has £40m for this project. If the £78m new build was the preferred option, there would be an immediate problem as we don’t have the money in our budget.
“To achieve that, we would need to cancel other capital projects for children’s services, involving SEN placements, in other parts of our area or cut other major capital projects elsewhere. This £46m is an enormous sum of taxpayers’ money.”
Independent Aspley and Woburn councillor and executive member for finance John Baker told the meeting: “The cost works out at £153 for every man, woman and child in Central Beds.
“It’s the biggest investment CBC will have made in its history of the local authority’s own money,” he confirmed.
“This will involve stripping the current premises back to the core and then rebuilding. If we spend another £20m, it’s a significant reduction in SEND provision across the authority.”
Conservative Cranfield and Marston Moretaine councillor Sue Clark explained: “We brought forward a special school places plan in 2022 identifying a complete new build for Ivel Valley and successfully secured a free school bid for a free special school.
“Our Ivel Valley proposals were fully costed and that money was in the budget. I’m disappointed during the last two years it hasn’t been possible to progress that. What’s on the table now is a shadow of what we’d planned to achieve.”
Liberal Democrat Leighton Linslade South councillor Shaun Roberts warned: “It would be financially irresponsible to be taking final decisions until we’ve seen a report as to why things look so different in Central Bedfordshire.”
Independent Leighton Linslade West councillor Victoria Harvey said: “We hear about all this work going on, but the communication hasn’t kept pace.
“That’s tragic because there might have been plenty of good work. What a shame we couldn’t communicate it.”
Council leader and Independent Potton councillor Adam Zerny posted on social media that the £46m would be spent “building 3,200sqm of new teaching blocks, sports pitches and facilities, a hydrotherapy pool, quiet rooms and the site revamp”, once this option is finally approved by the executive.
The committee voted in favour of starting a consultation process for the £46m option, which would combine the site overhaul with an expansion of the development on to adjacent land.