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Council signs £150m schools, leisure and community centres contract

Author: Nick Griffin

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Barnet Council has appointed Graham Construction to build an estimated £150 million of major projects including new schools, leisure and community centres as part of the council’s Capital Projects programme.

More people live in Barnet than any other London borough and as the population continues to grow the contract will provide a range of new buildings including schools, leisure centres and community centres to meet the growing demand.

The schemes already confirmed include the building of two new leisure centres at Copthall and New Barnet, the Tarling Road Community Centre in East Finchley as well as school expansion projects.

Despite needing to reduce day to day spending, the council is continuing to invest in the essential infrastructure of the borough. Our financial strategy will see £565 million of capital investment between 2016 and 2020, funded by developer contributions, capital receipts, borrowing, revenue and external grants.

Graham will deliver both improvements to existing buildings and new projects over the next five years, with the option to extend for another two years subject to budget and performance.  

Councillor Richard Cornelius, Leader of Barnet Council, said: “As our borough expands so does the need for us to provide more housing, school places, leisure centres and community facilities for our residents, which is why we are investing £565 million in the future of the borough. Barnet has a good track record of building major projects on time and on budget and this new partnership with Graham provides us further opportunity to deliver these important new buildings which will serve our residents for many years to come.”

Rod McMullan, Graham Construction’s Director the Partnership, said: “The London Borough of Barnet partnership focuses on quality, value, and cost certainty and we are confident that the knowledge and experience gained from our extensive ongoing education portfolio and Inner-London projects will ensure the council’s Capital Projects pipeline is delivered on time and within budget. We are looking forward to working with the council and the wider team to further improve the range and quality of council services and strengthen Barnet’s reputation as a thriving environment.”