New school for ACC held up until 2014

Athlone Community College will have to wait until May 2014 for its long-promised 1,000-pupil new school, over a full-academic year later than originally planned. The delay emerged after the department confirmed to the Westmeath Independent this week that contracts will not be awarded until November for the bundle of eight schools, including Athlone Community College, being progressed through the Public Private Partnership (PPP) process. "This would lead to a completion date of May 2014 for Athlone Community College," the department statement indicated, in excess of eight months later than the original timeframe of the school being built and occupied by September next year. No reason has been given for the delay in school project which will now see the school only coming into use in September 2014. In late September last year, BAM Building Ltd was chosen as the preferred tenderer by the National Development Finance Agency (NDFA) to carry out the construction works as part of bundle three of the PPP process with seven other schools nationwide. Planning permission was granted for the last of the bundle of schools in May this year. "The NDFA is currently involved in negotiations with BAM PPP. Once these negotiations are successfully finalised, it is anticipated that a contract for the construction of the entire bundle of eight schools including Athlone Community College will be awarded," the department said this week. First announced as part of the PPP group format back in 2008, the school development covers the demolition of existing post-primary school buildings at the Retreat road site and the provision of a two/three-storey school building to include a PE hall, hard play courts and playing pitches. Reacting to the news the new school will not be available until the September 2014 term, Mayor of Athlone Cllr Jim Henson said he is not surprised by the development as they have been regularly updated at the monthly Westmeath VEC meetings, and the PPP process is a complicated one. He believes that the short delay has been to do with contracts, highlighting the fact that if there is any hold-up with any one of the eight schools, the entire process cannot move forward. "Obviously, it's a little disappointing but, at the same time I'm delighted Athlone is going to get it at this difficult time. Both Cllr Gabrielle McFadden and I have been constantly on about it (at the VEC). Not many towns are getting a new school and I'm delighted it's coming, albeit, a bit later than expected," Mayor Henson, also a member of Westmeath VEC said. "You're talking of up on €20 million in total in that package (of eight schools). It's a major project for Athlone," he underlined. Under the Public Private Partnership model, the schools will be designed, built, financed and maintained for 25 years by the successful tenderer. Separately, An Bord Pleánala has yet to rule on an appeal case by BAM Building Ltd in relation to the level of development contributions attached to the school's planning permission in Athlone. A verdict had been due on Wednesday, July 18 last after being pushed back from the first decision date in May. It's now unclear when a ruling will be forthcoming from the planning appeals board with a major backlog of applications due to the shortage of board members earlier this year. The developer is appealing the €264,000 fees sought by the council as part of the planning application. As part of that decision, the local authority stated that prior to the commencement of the project the construction firm would pay the sum of €136,984.50 as a development contribution in respect of public infrastructure and services. Another supplementary contribution of €25,745.58 was sought towards the cost of the Athlone Main Drainage scheme, €32,000 for upgrading of footpaths in the Retreat Road area of the town and a €70,000 special levy for the upgrading of access roads. A spokeperson for Athlone Community College could not be contacted.