Plans submitted for £1.2million adult education centre in Alnwick

Northumberland County Council is planning to develop the Lindisfarne Community Campus on the former middle school site, with the focus being a modern adult learning centre.

Ahead of a public drop-in event to showcase the scheme in October 2019, the authority said that work was set to start in the spring, with the facility open by this month.

That has not proved to be the case, but the project is now back on track with a planning application having been lodged recently.

It seeks permission for the refurbishment of the annexe building, including works to the roof as well as the installation of solar panels, the replacement of all timber windows with uPVC double-glazed units, a mechanical and electrical upgrade, loft insulation, the creation and refurbishment of classroom and spaces for community use plus an extension to the front to increase the café area.

When the £1.2million investment was signed off by the cabinet in June 2019, it was reported that the rest of the old school buildings will be demolished to reduce ongoing running costs, while the authority had already committed to retaining the playing fields.

‘Initially the space created can be utilised for on-site parking with the potential for an appropriate new-build development at some point in the future,’ the report to councillors explained.

An assessment of various options in that report states that the refurbishment cost ‘compares favourably with an equivalent new-build cost of £4million’.

Plus, the current running costs for the whole site are £190,000 a year, which will be reduced to about £60,000 through the demolition of the other buildings. In addition, backlog maintenance would cost in excess of £3.2million.

The original proposal under the previous administration, to sell off the site for development, was discounted due to the lack of alternative bases for the adult learning service and ‘considerable local opposition’.

‘In addition, there is a covenant on the site held by Northumberland Estates that it must be used for education purposes,’ the report notes.

The current proposals were drawn up following consultation with the Alnwick Forum.

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