£80m backlog of maintenance issues at Northumberland County Council schools

The figure was revealed in a report for the council’s cabinet into the proposed replacement of Astley Community High School and Whytrig Middle School’s buildings in Seaton Delaval with a new carbon neutral shared campus.

These two schools jointly account for £15.7m of the maintenance backlog due to the presence of asbestos, which makes work difficult or impossible without closing large areas of the school. The new building is due to open in September 2025.

Councillor Guy Renner-Thompson, the cabinet member responsible for schools, said: “This is a really exciting time for education in Northumberland.

“Not only are Ofsted ratings at a record high and well above the national average, our ambitious school capital investment programme continues to take shape.

“We have completed projects in Haydon Bridge, Ponteland, and Hexham. Now we are moving on to Amble, Seaton Valley, and Berwick, and also lots of other investment and improvement programmes are taking place around the county.

“We want our schools to be fit for the future and the new high schools will use innovative technologies to create net zero carbon in operation schools.

“The council also spends on average over £2m per year addressing maintenance issues across our maintained school estate.”

A separate report showed 11 investment projects had been completed in the last academic year representing £1.3m-worth of spending, not including projects that remained underway in September 2023.

Projects include roof and window replacements, better heating and sewage systems, and improved facilities for children with special educational needs and disabilities.