The Olive School in Hackney and Ark Academy in Croydon are the first two projects that Millcroft has won with Wates, building on an increasingly strong business pipeline in the education sector for the leading scaffolding specialist.
Part of the Star Academies multi-academy trust (MAT), the Olive School in Hackney was established in 2013 and the £7 million project being delivered by Wates will enable the school to move into larger premises with the refurbishment of the Victorian former Hackney Police Station and new extensions to the rear.
Millcroft’s role in the project is to erect scaffolding to the elevations of the Victorian building for cleaning and repairs to the façade, which involves designing the scaffolding to follow the contours of the building’s portico entrance and large bay windows. The scaffolding works also involve construction of scaffolding for the new build extension to enable brickwork and cladding works.
Billy Jones from Millcroft comments: “The idiosyncrasies of the Victorian building present a design challenge but, as a scaffolding specialist with extensive experience of heritage projects, this is something that we can take in our stride.
“The additional challenges for The Olive School are the logistical restrictions involved in working on a locked-in site on a red route next to the adjacent Green Flag Heritage registered 18th Century Church, St-John-at-Hackney. We are working closely with Wates to limit vehicle sizes and working hours to ensure minimal disruption to local residents and traffic while keeping the programme on track.”
The Ark Blake Academy in Croydon is a £25 million new build secondary school with a rooftop MUGA pitch constructed on a brownfield site. The existing buildings on the site have already been demolished and Millcroft will provide both external scaffolding for brickwork and cladding on the new build’s external envelope, along with internal scaffolding and birdcages to facilitate brickwork, erection of staircases and internal fit out.
Neil Lock, Project Director, from Wates comments: “These are the first two projects where we have appointed Millcroft and so far we have been extremely impressed by their positive attitude, meticulous attention to detail and safety-first culture.
“These school projects reflect a busy construction market for the education sector in London as demand for places continues to grow, and we’re confident that Millcroft will work with us to ensure on-time delivery of both schemes.”
