8:34am Tuesday 5th August 2008
By Philippa Weighell
PLANS to reign in the escalating costs of Richmond School's re-development will be unveiled next week.
Work at the school was halted last December when North Yorkshire County Council identified a "significant overspend" on the project's 32m budget. The exact figure was not revealed, but some reports said it could be as high as £5m.
The council pledged that the scheme would be completed within budget, so that cash would not have to be taken from capital funding for other schools in the county.
Work on the first phase - a new sixth form and six-court sports hall - was already underway, but architects Atkins have been forced to re-design the second phase to ensure the project does not exceed its budget.
The new plans are so different from the original ones that they will have to be re-submitted for planning approval.
A spokeswoman for North Yorkshire County Council said: "The sixth form and sports hall have been able to go ahead with relatively minor changes, but the new build second phase has not been able to continue without a significant re-design.
"Revised plans are therefore being presented to stakeholders so that the public view can be taken into consideration before they are finalised and submitted to the planning authority for approval."
The open evening later this month will also include an explanation by builders Shepherd's Construction, of how they propose to construct this re-design on a school site in use. The event is open to stakeholders only but further open evenings are planned specifically for staff, parents and pupils when the school re-opens in September.
County Coun John Watson, North Yorkshire's executive member for schools, said: "We are confident that, despite these unfortunate setbacks, Richmond School will stand for the very best in school design in the region."
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