Ingleton Wood awarded £20m funding Friday, 10th July 2020

We are delighted to announce that we have won over £20 million in funding for vital school projects from the Government’s Condition Improvement Fund for 2020/21.

Ingleton Wood has secured almost 5% of the £434 million funding from the Department for Education – thought to be one of the largest amounts won by a single company nationally.

The investment for our education clients range from small repair projects such as fire door and boiler renewals to multimillion-pound school block replacements.

David Cresswell, Partner and education portfolio lead, said: “Our teams worked very hard at the end of 2019 to speculatively produce hundreds of bids and we were worried that when the announcement of this bid was delayed that it may be cancelled due to Covid-19.

“Clearly this announcement is not only fantastic for the successful schools but also the portion of the construction sector that supports them. From consultants like ourselves to contractors and suppliers, this fund became vital when it replaced the more traditional ways of capital allocation to schools.

“We look forward to delivering these projects for the schools and seeing the pupils and staff benefit as well as their wider communities.”

Case Study
We secured £2.26m for Grange Academy in Bedford to build new state-of-the-art teaching accommodation classrooms. Work is set to start later this year and finish by Christmas 2021.

Headteacher Catherine Assink said: “We have a range of extremely old and dilapidated portacabin type classrooms where you can literally push your fingers through the walls. I am passionate about the well-being of all my staff and pupils, so to be awarded this bid, which will enable us to have decent accommodation, is an excellent achievement.

“When I met David and his team, they suggested that we submit a bid, not to repair them, but to replace them. I didn’t believe that we would ever be successful, not because the need wasn’t patently evident but because over the years you become a little pessimistic in relation to the system.

“Now the funding has been approved, we have a chance to make a real difference for all the pupils and staff at Grange. I can’t thank Ingleton Wood enough; their team’s knowledge and dedication is excellent and the results are plain to see.”

Condition Improvement Fund 2020/21 – Ingleton Wood’s Top 5 Projects

School: Grange Academy, Bedford
Funding amount: £2.26m
Summary: Replacement of temporary buildings with new teaching accommodation.

School: Davenant Foundation School, Loughton
Funding amount: £1.21m
Summary: Replacement of four 1980s demountable units with new permanent accommodation

School: Christ Church Primary School, Erith
Funding amount: £1m
Summary: Three new permanent class bases to replace 1990s temporary teaching block

School: Kelvedon St Marys, Kelvedon
Funding amount: £566k
Summary: Removal of two 1980s demountable buildings and provision of purpose built nursery building

School: Mayflower School, Billericay
Funding amount: £630k
Summary: Internal improvement works