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and we also had to be careful of unexploded bombs.” The site at Deptford was surveyed for unexploded ordnance


from World War II but none was found. The school will feature a biomass boiler that burns cardboard briquettes. Other schemes earlier in the programme also featured biomass but the focus has since switched to CHP to meet air quality requirements in this part of the borough. As part of commitments to the local population, a quarter of


Costain’s workforce must also live in a property with a Lewisham postcode – a target just being met so far. Fisher adds: “It’s a real balance. Within the borough of Lewisham, there are relatively few sub-contractors like roofers or brickies, and we have to rely on our supply chain to employ local people.” The fourth phase of the BSF reached financial close at the end


of 2010. This covered four schools with Bonus Pastor Catholic College, Prendergast Vale and a new Austistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) School to be delivered through the PFI concession at a capital cost of £54 million, while Prendergast Hilly Fields College will be built out under an £18 million D&B contract. The Lewisham schools’ programme has been a bonus for


Costain for a variety of reasons. Apart from providing a steady stream of public sector work during a difficult period, when many BSF projects were canned


by the government, the stake in the first SPV has also proved valuable for other reasons. The stake was one of six PFI holdings held by Costain that late last year were transferred into the com- pany’s pension scheme. At a stroke, the transfer helped reduce Costain’s pension deficit by £22 million. Like Costain’s pension, the schools in Lewisham are intended to be an investment in the future.


Project – Lewisham BSF Client – London Borough of Lewisham Value – £400 million Concessionaire – Learning 21 Building contractor – Costain Facilities management & ICT provider – Babcock


Education & skills Architects – ACP, WGI & HKR Planning consultant – Savills Structural engineers – SKM, RUK M&E Consultant – BWE M&E Contractor – NG Bailey BREEAM Consultant – Price & Myers Acoustics – SRL


Deptford Green School under construction


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