We are delighted to have recently finished construction on the new 2-form entry primary school and nursery in Mindenhurst. The building was handed over to Surrey County Council on 15th January. We look forward to the school opening and becoming a community hub and focal point in the area.
The central location was chosen to ensure connectivity with the walking and cycling routes throughout the village. The primary school can accommodate 420 pupils which will meet the growing demand of the existing and new community. The primary school has 14 classrooms all with adjoining bathrooms and includes all relevant facilities such as: two halls, a music room, modern kitchen, student cookery room, library, medical bay, and staff room. Outside there are: two multi games pitches, a hard play area and running track, a habitat area with 143 trees and over 3000 shrubs, and 2 bicycle stores. The nursery will provide spaces for 52 children offering, full day care facilities, with an external play area separate to the primary school.
Surrey County Council confirmed that they are committed to opening the primary school and are working to establish an academy trust to run the school. As a new school they need to ensure there are enough pupils to make it viable and will therefore only open once there are additional new homes built on the development. They explained that opening a new school too early would have a significant impact on other local schools and the Council is trying to avoid this happening so that existing schools remain sustainable. The Council is working with other local schools to ensure that a primary school at Mindenhurst is opened to the benefit of residents in the local area and the wider community.
We were delighted to accept a Certificate of Excellence from the Considerate Constructor Scheme after their last visit to the Mindenhurst Development. The team achieved a level of excellence in each of the following sections; Care about Appearance, Respect the Community, Protect the Environment, Secure everyone’s Safety, and Value their Workforce.
The CCS monitor said: “It was a real pleasure to revisit this professionally managed development. The external appearance is splendid, remarkably clean and tidy and overall the site continues to leave an excellent impression of the construction industry and the aims of the Scheme.”
This recognition reflects the hard work and commitment of the entire project team to achieve excellence on every aspect of this development.
Local residents are free to enjoy some newly-opened outdoor public spaces now that the pond and village green areas have been completed.
Despite the disruption caused by Covid-19, the Skanska team was able to open these green spaces to the public at the end of May. The village green and pond areas are part of the development’s planned community facilities. There is a new children’s play area nearby, which we are pleased to open to the public on 4th July following updated government guidance. In addition, planning permission has recently been granted for the new village pub, The Frog, which will sit by the green.
Leisliane Garcia, Development Director at Mindenhurst, said: “We are really proud to welcome our neighbours to these new community facilities. The green’s landscape design is based on heathland plants that reflect the natural ecology of the area and provide quality and sustainability. As lockdown restrictions begin to be eased, we are delighted to offer these outdoor spaces for the community to enjoy”.
Works will be ongoing in areas to maintain and improve quality. Should you need to report an issue, please get in touch at hello@mindenhurst.co.uk.
At Mindenhurst we are closely following the government guidance regarding the Coronavirus (Covid19) pandemic. The Government has asked the construction industry to continue working therefore, where we are able to ensure the safety of those working on site, we will continue our operations.
We continue to follow Government and Construction Leadership Council guidelines, as well our own stringent safety requirements which are in line with the latest guidance from Public Health England. We will keep these arrangements under constant review and take any steps required.
Our priority is and always will be, protecting the safety of all people: the welfare of our communities, staff, customers and sub-contractors will always be paramount; never more so than in the unprecedented circumstances in which we find ourselves.
The best way to keep up to date with developments at Mindenhurst is to continue to check our website for regular updates and you can contact us directly via our getting in touch page.
At Mindenhurst we are closely following the government guidance and are adhering to their advice to reduce social contact. This will unfortunately reduce the amount of face to face engagement we have with the community including the Drop-In sessions and other public commitments. The best way to keep up to date with developments at Mindenhurst is to check our website, where you can find construction updates, cancellation notices for public events, and send us any questions you may have. Please be advised that responses to queries submitted may take slightly longer.
Last year the Mindenhurst team invited children from Portesbery School and Lakeside Primary School to create artwork illustrating Skanska’s values, including reducing our carbon footprint, care for life and our environment. The winning artwork from this competition would be displayed on our hoarding however as all the submissions we received showed such creativity and imagination we decided they were all winners. We have displayed all their artwork on our hoarding outside the new Mindenhurst Primary School and Nursery. To thank them for their hard work and creativity we were delighted to invite the children to site to view their art and recieve a goodie bag for all their hard work.
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