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Castleward Primary School

Castleward Spencer Academy in Derby will become the centre of a brand new £100 million housing-led regeneration of the area. Not only does it provide 315 additional pupil places, it has helped generate over £3 million in social value investment. With 81% spent locally and within 40 miles of the scheme, it has wholly involved the local community and region.

Key Stats

  • 10/10 client satisfaction
  • £3,013,554 Social Value generated
  • 82% local labour used
  • Built on former Brownfield site
  • Constrained site in busy city centre
  • 41/50 CCS score

At a Glance

Client

Derby City Council

Budget

£7.6 million

Completion

August 2021

Location

Canal Street, Derby

Sector

Primary Education

Introduction

Through Section 106 agreements, the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership, Homes England, and Derby City Council have embarked upon a major regeneration with approximately 1,000 new homes. As a result, the team were required to design and build a new 1.5 Form Entry (FE) primary school to supplement the increase in population to this exciting new community. The brand-new primary school provides 315 pupil places and a 39-place nursery. It comprises 12 spacious classrooms, several ancillary facilities across two floors and a multi-purpose games facility to support active play.

Work began during the summer of 2020 amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, however with careful collaboration and speedy procurement through the SCAPE Regional Construction framework, the project was completed on budget and one week ahead of the programme.

Castleward School (5)

Brownfield site

With 1,000 new homes being built, identifying an appropriate site to build the new school was crucial. Located just outside a busy city centre and a brief walk from the Derby City train station, the project location inevitably meant the space to build the school was going to be minimal. A brownfield site which was previously used as a car park provided an effective solution. The small site (5,200m² development area) was almost half the size than usually required for a school, which significantly influenced the logistics strategy.

As part of the extensive groundworks process, there was a pre-commencement planning condition which required an archaeological investigation to take place. The investigation was planned to be completed over a period of eight days during the enabling works on site.

However, during the initial works, there were some items of interest that had been uncovered and as a result Trent and Peak (in co-ordination with Derby City Council) requested that additional investigation works be completed to various areas of the site. A team of up to four archaeologists were on site for just over four weeks completing further investigation works. Despite the additional time required, the investigation was completed just before the piling works were due to commence.

An aerial view of Castleward School and its roof-top playground

Innovative approach

Innovation and close collaboration in the pre-construction phase was required to ensure a successful build. By holding various collaborative planning workshops with key stakeholders, we were able to minimise disruption to the local area using our extensive 1K Strategy, which identifies, mitigates, then improves the impact of the project within 1km of the site.

The new school building, which is a combination of one and two-storey blocks, has a clever rooftop play area with two metre high parapets to keep children safe. This approach to design allows for the school to achieve more outdoor recreational space than the site would have traditionally allowed; it also has a multi-purpose games facility for active play.

Whilst we ensured the safety of children upon the roof, the city-centre location of the school meant extra precautions were necessary to safety-proof the whole building.

The design and position of the building has been devised to optimise use of the land for the school and provide a clear, visible main entrance and secure line of sight to the building. Existing fencing and established hedgerows have been retained and enhanced to ensure a secure perimeter, with pedestrian access separated from vehicular access, minimising risk at drop-off and pick-up times.

Check out our approach to:

Social value in the community

Social Impact

As part of the £3 million of social value generated, which included local labour, 97% SME spend profile, the team also donated a reading book machine for the children of Castleward to enjoy.

We are delighted to be welcoming the first pupils to our newest primary school at Castleward. Its state-of-the-art design features, such as the flexible use of space, the innovative outdoor play area and the security of a sprinkler system offer a superb environment for learning. The school will be vital in transforming the regeneration of an inner-city area into a thriving community. - Cllr Evonne Williams, Derby City Council’s cabinet member for children, young people, and skills

Gallery

The grand opening of Castleward Spencer Academy
Castleward School (12)
A newly finished primary classroom at Castleward
Castleward School (7)
An aerial view of Castleward School and its roof-top playground

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