Ousedale Olney Campus Delay and Alternative Arrangements

12.00.00am GMT Mon 1st May 2006

Milton Keynes Council has worked in strong partnership with Ousedale School since the inception of the Olney Campus project. The new campus is a superb design and will provide secondary school and community facilities of the highest quality for many decades to come.

However, close monitoring of building progress by both parties has revealed that the scheme has fallen behind schedule. Senior staff from the Council and Ousedale School have met on several occasions in recent weeks with the private sector architect and construction company employed to design, manage and construct the new facilities to explore ways of getting the programme back on track. Every avenue has been considered including the use of additional resources.

But Jackson's, the construction company, and Penoyre and Prasad, the architects managing the project, confirmed at the end of last week that the school cannot be completed until October 2006, and that acceleration of remaining works to achieve a secure handover of the new buildings by the start of the September term is not possible.

Clearly this is very disappointing news for all those connected with the project and parents, pupils and the wider communities of Olney, Lavendon and surrounding areas. A full investigation into the reasons for the delay is underway.

Milton Keynes Council, Ousedale School and other partners have worked speedily on securing high quality alternative arrangements. The decision has been made to use the bespoke temporary school at Middleton for the first half term of the new school year. The temporary school has a good range of facilities to meet the school's needs. These include science laboratories, technology rooms and a school hall. Students will, of course, be provided with free transport to the temporary school. The Olney Campus will be available for occupation by pupils from the start of the second half of the September term.

Milton Keynes Council will put in place measures to recover damages from those responsible for the delay, and will work very closely with Ousedale School and the local community on the successful implementation of the alternative arrangements.

Ousedale School and the Council have written to parents and will keep parents, students and other partners fully informed of the details of these new arrangements during this term.

Local Liberal Democrat Olney Ward Councillor Graham Mabbutt said: "It is a great disappointment to the students and parents, the staff and myself, that the architects and builders have failed to meet the contracted delivery dates. However, despite a late opening, the new campus is a facility that will be well worth waiting for, and something that I personally have been working for over a number of years."