The permanent school building project for the school referred to by the Deputy has been assigned to my Department’s Design & Build delivery programme. This delivery programme uses a professional external Project Manager to progress the project through the relevant stages of architectural planning, tender and construction.
Architectural Planning has commenced with site surveys completed and design development progressing. A pre-planning meeting has been held with the local authority which is informing the design of the school.
The next milestone for the project will be the submission of the planning application. My Department will liaise with the school authority to arrange a meeting to share the plans in advance of lodging the planning application. It is not possible to provide an indicative timeframe for the progression of the project to tender and construction stages until such time as the necessary statutory approvals have been secured.
The delivery of the permanent school building will be managed to take account of any interim accommodation located on the permanent site.