A MEETING was held at Warbstow Primary School on Friday, March 23 to discuss the problems with the installation of new classrooms at the school, which have seen long delays and escalated costs, writes David Sillifant.

Pupils and teachers were evacuated from the old classroom in January last year due to its deterioration and high winds, which has meant they have been forced to learn in a temporary building ever since.

Cornwall Council initially decided to try and repair the old building, but soon realised that it was beyond economic repair and agreed to replace it with two new classrooms, which could also cater for 30 extra pupils.

However problems with the weather, existing ground conditions and the necessity to build a new retaining wall, have meant that the new classrooms have been delayed while residents and the school have been left disappointed by the disruption caused by the temporary road across the school field between Bury Close and the school field as well as the spiralling costs.

Paul Cant, project manager with Arcadis who are overseeing the build, was asked by parents and the school as to whether they are still on course to be able to move into the classrooms for the summer term, which starts on Monday, April 16.

He said: “The classrooms will be available to use by April 16 and teachers should be able to come in and do whatever you need the week before. An electric metre is all that needs to be ordered so I don’t foresee any problems, unless there’s nothing we can do about it.”

With the atmosphere in the hall tense, Cornwall Council’s interim head of capital projects, Steve Wood, offered an apology from the council for their failings.

However, resident Ray Haynes, who lives on Bury Close, which is next to the building, wasn’t happy.

He said: “The school and parents want an apology, we haven’t received a suitable apology. You haven’t talked to the village. There have been lots of questions asked and it’s been disappointing that we haven’t been given any answers, it’s not fair!”

A Cornwall Council representative said: “My understanding is that what became an initial repair came a much bigger thing. If it was at the beginning then there would have been a much more engagement. Huge apologies go to the community and the school and we’ll make sure that lessons are learned.”

Cornwall Councillor for Tintagel Ward (Conservative), Cllr Barry Jordan, said: “I know that this council has to take responsibility, but we didn’t know and once I did, I went straight down to Truro to try and get it sorted.”

Resident Sue Uglow blasted the council and Lorne Stewart for their efforts.

She said: “Who has been responsible for this catastrophe? It seems unbelievable that no-one is responsible for such a massive over budget, I think it’s disgraceful. I hope that one of the things learned is that you have to talk to people in the village. We have no idea of what’s going on at the school.”

The chairman of Warbstow Parish Council, Lynette Hutchinson, was asked whether they had been kept in the loop.

She said: “We’ve had very little communication apart from a couple of letters and the odd email.”

James Halse, from Arcadis, admitted to the cost of the project, which brought widespread dismay to the near 50-strong crowd.

Mr Halse said: “The final cost will be nearly £800,000. A whole series of factors has increased this, such as problems with electric cables, water in the soil and other things.”

Another Cornwall Council representative admitted that in hindsight they probably would have replaced the classrooms straight away instead of spending time trying to replace the old ones.

He said: “If we knew the final costs we may have gone with bricks and water at the beginning. It started off as a small repair project, which has had problems all the way through. But in terms of the size of facility, it’s no different to other counties. It’s an expensive project and the size of the new classrooms will allow for an extra 30 pupils.”

A member of public then asked: “But how is that going to affect the village?”

He replied: “We’ll consult with the local parish council to look at the possibility of yellow lines or additional parking.”

Scott Mann, Conservative MP for North Cornwall, questioned the escalating costs and asked where the £800,000 had gone, to which Mr Halse said to the building contractors.

Mr Haynes asked: “Could people have something back such as a drop off point or yellow lines?”

Cllr Jordan said a sum of money had been given to Oliver Jones, CORMAC’s area highways and environment manager, to improve the roads in the area.

He said: “Oliver Jones has been given £200,000. You need to talk to the parish council with your concerns so that they can be then given to me to give to Oliver.”

PE co-ordinator and teacher at the school, Mrs Perdi Sobey, demanded that damaged PE equipment is replaced immediately, adding: “Lots of our equipment has rotted and got mouldy as a result of the leaks. We haven’t got a container for storage and we’ve had to wait over six months for a wooden shed. I need money for the equipment as soon as possible as most of my equipment has been damaged.”

Cornwall Council and Ardicus agreed to her request and promised to sort the equipment as soon as possible while Cllr Jordan again offered his help.

He said: “Every year as a Cornwall councillor you get given £2,000 to be given to groups from the Cornwall Councillor Community Grant. Although I’ve already given away some of it, I’d be prepared to put £1,000 in to replace the damaged equipment.”

Warbstow’s head of school, Stuart Ellis, hoped that the classrooms will be ready by April 16 and he thanked everyone for attending the meeting.

He told the Post: “The priority has been to ensure that the class will be delivered on time, fit for purpose and that there will be no further delays incurred. Warbstow Primary School has prided itself on its Early Years Foundation Stage and its outstanding Ofsted report and that’s what I mean to carry on. I’m pleased to see that this meeting has been well attended, that Cornwall Council, Arcadis and Aspire all recognised the importance to solve the problems that we’ve faced over a long period of time.”

Cornwall Council said in a statement: “Cornwall Council would like to apologise for the time it has taken to provide the new classrooms for Warbstow School and the inconvenience to all who have been affected by the works, including students, teachers and the wider community. The council is working hard to improve the situation. We have taken back management of the project from a contractor and has committed to providing regular weekly bulletins on progress.

“Cornwall Council is looking closely at the contractual arrangements with the contractors and consultants. We are unable to give a final cost as the project is not yet complete however, as was said at the meeting with the local community held on March 23, it is likely to be in the region of £800,000. Cost estimates have increased because after structural investigations it became apparent that the school building that was originally due for refurbishment was beyond economic repair.

“The decision was taken by the council to replace the existing building with a brand new two-class modular building, which, while more expensive, would also ensure that the school could accommodate anticipated pupil growth in the Warbstow area.

“This significant change of project scope did mean that additional works were required to the site, including the need for a large crane to lift the buildings onto the site. Additional issues also arose during the project relating to the retaining wall and the water logging of the site, which have also added to the costs.

“We met with the local community on Friday, March 23 to listen to concerns. It was agreed that there would be an investigation into general parking and transport arrangements in and around the school which will consider the impact to the wider community and which is intended to help mitigate any impact caused by the expansion of the school.”