Flammable Cladding Remediation Exceeds £450,000 for Classroom Conversion

A council report has disclosed that rectifying “highly flammable” cladding on a structure designated for conversion into classrooms will incur expenses exceeding £450,000. This cladding was identified while Warwickshire County Council was preparing to utilize a unit located at the Bermuda Innovation Centre on St David’s Way, Nuneaton. The unit was intended to house students aged over 16 who have special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The Department for Education (DfE) had allocated a £2.7m fund for the establishment of this facility. However, current plans indicate a shortfall now exceeding £1m. This financial gap is partly attributable to the inclusion of flammable expanded polystyrene (EPS) insulation during the construction of the units in the mid-2000s, a material that is currently prohibited. The building is designed to accommodate approximately 50 students from Oak Wood School, featuring five teaching spaces, a sixth-form social and dining area, hair and beauty spaces, food technology areas, a science lab, a kitchen and servery, a sensory garden, and an outdoor dining area. Nevertheless, a report presented to Peter Butlin, who serves as the deputy leader of the council and is responsible for finance and property, confirms the persistence of a financial shortfall. Although almost half of the funding deficit is attributed to the cladding, £639,000 pertains to issues stemming from “further design, development and site investigations.” The removal of cladding from this particular unit is proceeding “due to the level of dependency and care required for the SEND pupils and the likelihood of a protracted evacuation strategy.” According to the report, other structures within the park are not required to have their cladding removed because they do not possess the “same level of need and their evacuation will not be so gradual.” This information was compiled by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, an entity that reports on councils and other public service organizations. For updates, follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X, and Instagram. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC disclaims responsibility for the content of external websites. Information regarding our external linking policy is available for review.