School opens in new Lancashire community

Cassidy & Ashton Architects and Conlon Construction have handed over the new primary school that forms part of the large Buckshaw Village development on the site of a former Royal Ordnance factory in Chorley.

The £5.5m project off Buckshaw Avenue caters for more than 200 local pupils and there is development land for an extension to accommodate up to 420 children as demand increases.

The school, owned and operated by the Blackburn Church of England Diocese and the Chorley Methodist Circuit, was due to open in September 2010 but met with a delay before construction began due to protracted negotiations between Redrow, Chorley Council and the diocese over the sale of the land. Conlon completed construction within the contracted 52-week build period.

The school opened in temporary accommodation for its first term at the Seven Stars Primary School in Leyland.

Michael Conlon, construction director at Conlon Construction, said: "This has been a fantastic project for our team to be involved in. It is a visually stunning building with state-of-the-art facilities within and around it.

"We all hope that pupils and staff members are very happy in their new home. It is so pleasing to see the children enjoying the building and it really brings our work to life."

Chris Taylor, associate director from architects Cassidy & Ashton, said: "We set out to create an inspirational building which pupils, teachers and the wider community can be really proud of. It has been a challenging process and it is so exciting to see the final results making a real difference to young people's lives."

Head teacher Jill Wright commented: "The children love their new school. It is a wonderful learning environment in which we can work with the children and serve the families of Buckshaw Village. My favourite part is the hall, where we can have worship and hopefully hold wonderful productions."

Features of the school include a food technology kitchen, wireless network, underfloor heating and a special colourful play area for reception children.

Buckshaw Village totals more than 2,000 homes built by Redrow, Barratt Homes, Persimmon and Rowland Homes