Hull-based construction firm Hobson & Porter is enjoying another bumper year working in the education sector, after starting a major new extension project in York, as well as working on numerous other school and college projects across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.
The company is now working on a £1.4million extension at St Paul’s Nursery School on St Paul’s Square in York’s Holgate area. The project, on behalf of City of York Council, also involves internal alterations and the refurbishment of the existing Grade II listed nursery building.
St Paul’s opened in 1936, making it York’s oldest nursery, and it was gifted to the local authority by the Rowntree family. It currently caters for children aged three to five and when work completes towards the end of the year, it will be able to welcome children from their second birthday.
This latest project follows Hobson & Porter starting work earlier this year on a transformational extension at Cambridge Park Academy in Grimsby, which will almost double the size of its sixth form college for SEND pupils.
The project is part of the expansion of North East Lincolnshire Council’s sufficiency strategy for special educational needs and alternative provision. Once work completes, the council owned building will accommodate up to 28 pupils aged between 14 and 19 years old.
Hobson & Porter is also building two new primary schools near Grimsby, at Scartho and Waltham, for North East Lincolnshire Council, which will open this year and both will be run by Lincolnshire Gateway Academies Trust.
In Skegness, Hobson & Porter is building a new £12million learning campus for Skegness TEC (Training, Education and Careers). The facility is supported by a £14million government-funded Connected Coast Town Deal and will offer a diverse range of vocational and accessible education courses in critical areas such as construction, engineering, hospitality, tourism, and digital skills training.
Hobson & Porter also typically delivers between £2million and £3million worth of refurbishment work in schools and colleges throughout Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, whilst they’re closed for the summer holidays.
Richard Hunter, managing director at Hobson & Porter, said: “We have a proven track record and a strong reputation for continually producing an exceptional standard of work in the education sector and this has made it a key part of our business.
“Much of our success is due to our ability to plan for and meet the tight deadlines the sector faces, with a lot of rapid-delivery and complex projects typically crammed into the summer months, when schools and colleges are closed.
“We’re very pleased to start work at St Paul’s Nursery School, which will benefit from our expertise in the education sector and complement our existing projects. We’ve also worked hard to devise effective ways to overcome the project’s unique challenges which include the site’s limited access, its Grade II listed boundary walls, and we’re building a timber framed extension that must be sympathetic to its surroundings.
“Ultimately, once work completes, there’s no doubt it will create a significantly enhanced environment where young people can learn, grow and thrive, which is our ultimate aim for every education scheme we deliver.”