Property consultant Eddisons has secured £30m to improve buildings at 76 academy schools across the UK under the Government’s Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) programme. Schools in line for upgrades include 24 in Yorkshire, set to receive a total of £10m worth of improvement works.
New funding for the latest round of schools projects in Yorkshire will include £1.5m for the refurbishment of Stokesley School in North Yorkshire’s sixth form block and a new roof and cladding for its sports hall. Over £1m has also been earmarked for the second phase of a major roof refurbishment at Rastrick High School in West Yorkshire.
The CIF programme is an annual round of bidding under which academy schools and colleges can apply for funding for the upkeep and improvement of their buildings and to fund expansion projects for schools that have been rated good or outstanding by Ofsted.
Eddisons’ national building and project consultancy team, which is led from the firm’s Leeds office, is expert in securing CIF funding for schools and has seen a £10m increase in successful bids for 2020 nationally to £30m, up from £20m in 2019. The team has also been appointed to design and project manage the safe delivery of all this year’s successful applications.
Building and project consultancy head Ian Harrington said: “We are building on our success rate year on year and the whole team is tremendously proud of our record of achievement for schools in Yorkshire and across the country. Now 76 more schools are set to benefit from improvements to their buildings and working environment which will make a huge difference to thousands of students and their teachers.
“Education is a key sector for Eddisons and we have built up a highly specialised team that are doing an outstanding job for our school and college clients.”
He added: “CIF bidding can seem an impenetrable process and it is rewarding to have the skills and experience be able to guide schools through the maze and to deliver the improvements that are benefiting so many school communities.”
