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Loughborough MP Nicky Morgan was able to meet some of the local people benefiting from construction of a new home for Ashmount School when she dropped in to meet the team behind the project.
Ashmount School is moving from Beacon Road to a new state-of-the-art facility in the Charnwood College Campus on Thorpe Hill and Willmott Dixon, the new school’s contractor, has put a strong emphasis on ensuring companies and people from the region are involved.
One such company is Loughborough based A&G Architects which designed the new home for Ashmount School, while Loughborough resident Luke Chambers is working on site for Willmott Dixon as a management trainee.
Nicky Morgan MP said, “I wanted to see first-hand how the new school was taking shape and meet people from Loughborough directly involved with the project. It was great to speak with Will Aust from A&G Architects about his work and also hear from Luke about how he is gaining valuable knowledge that will enable him to pursue a career in construction.”
Ashmount School provides education for pupils aged between four and 18 and aims to move into its new home for the Spring term in 2014.
With the school’s new home eagerly awaited by staff and pupils alike, the Willmott Dixon team led by operations manager Les Henson and construction manager Steve Waldron spent over an hour showing Nicky the project and answering her questions about local spend as well as outlining the construction programme between now and completion.
Operations manager Les Henson said, “The local spend issue is important for us as we see this project as a catalyst to sustain jobs and support inward investment in Loughborough. I’m pleased to say that currently between 70-80% of the £8.4m budget is being spent on companies located within a 30 mile radius while colleagues like Luke Chambers and undergraduates from Loughborough University are using it to gain important industry knowledge.”
With most of the school’s exterior envelope complete, the focus now will be on finishing the building services and interior design. When open, the new Ashmount School, which has space for 125 pupils, will have an exceptional energy performance, with natural light and ventilation combined with high insulation giving it an Energy Performance Certificate rating of A, the best grade possible.