Willmott Dixon will lead the construction of Burgess Hill Passivhaus school
Construction of Bedelands Academy, a 900-pupil school in Burgess Hill, is set to start later this year. The school will provide high-quality secondary places for families living nearby, and is expected to open to its first pupils in September 2025.
West Sussex County Council has committed nearly £40m of funding to create the new school, and around £18m of funding is being contributed by developers.
To achieve Passivhaus accreditation, the school is being designed to be net-zero carbon in operation. The project underlines the Council’s commitment to significantly reducing carbon emissions, with climate resilience built into the school’s design.
A 16-place Special Support Centre has been incorporated within the school for children with special educational needs and disabilities, along with high-quality sports facilities that will be available for community use.
The climate-resilient design specifications include the following:
- Highly energy-efficient in operation
- Provides an inspiring and welcoming, inclusive environment for learning, following best practice standards
- Generates its own energy on-site without using any fossil fuels, producing an estimated 296,000 kWh of energy a year from around 1,000 solar photovoltaic panels
- Retains and enhances the existing areas of biodiversity within the site, including the mature oak trees that are home to rare bats, and the hedgerows that provide habitat for dormice.
- Stays a comfortable temperature in all conditions using fresh air ventilation, supporting staff and pupils’ wellbeing
Deanestor has delivered its 12th fit out project for Morrison
The new Winchburgh Campus near Edinburgh was built by Morrison on behalf of West Lothian Council and their delivery partner, Hub South East Scotland.
The project has provided two new secondary schools, a primary school, and a sports and wellbeing hub.
The contract included the provision of over 300 base cabinets, 940m of white laminate worktops, over 1km of adjustable shelving, 16 teaching walls, 215 resource storage units, write-on teaching aids, shoebox storage units, and wall cupboards.
The client and teaching staff are delighted with the new campus
David Wright, construction manager at Morrison Construction, commented: “Deanestor performed really well at each stage of this project – pre-construction, programme scheduling, and project management. The quality of the furniture they manufactured was excellent, and the client and teaching staff are delighted with the new campus.”
“This project follows Deanestor’s successful delivery of the furniture and fitout contract at Barony Campus and good relationships with their team have been fostered on both of these large-scale schemes. We appreciate their transparent and collaborative approach and good communications, which build trust. We see Deanestor as a market leader and look forward to working on future projects.”
