Wales is full of great construction projects, but most of the ones we highlight have been completed and assessed – rarely do we report on a live scheme that you can watch day by day and sometimes even hour by hour. So, we want to introduce you to Shotton Primary School on Deeside, Flintshire. It is simply a great example of what a small Welsh local authority client can achieve working with local designers and local SME contractor. And you can track its progress via a web site run by its main contractor,Read Construction

One of the best parts of the project is the application of BIM which is delivering savings in terms of time and money. What’s more over half of the budget for the build has been allocated to local organisations in the supply chain – despite its proximity to the border with England. The headlines for the scheme are worth celebrating too - almost 90% of the supply chain has been paid within 30 days; around 90% of construction waste has been diverted from landfill and over 100 weeks of training, 

Apprenticeships and work experiences have already been delivered. All of this has happened within a highly collaborative relationship where the client, designers and contractor have worked together from a very early stage. 

Aled Robers AM and Liberal Democrat Shadow Education Minister visited the site with CEW last week and said “I will be urging the Welsh Government to promote the example of Flintshire’s new Shotton  primary school as a blueprint for building new schools in the future,” “What is demonstrated here is a new approach to design and construction integrating the work of council officials, developer and architect - this helps to ensure that a building project is finished on time and within budget. I was pleased to discuss this new building methodology with the Deputy Leader of Flintshire, Bernie Attridge.”

Ed Evans, CEW Director, said: “With the NWales Schools framework about to commence this is a great example of what can be achieved through collaborative procurement practices and early integrated team working. If these successes can be replicated across North Wales through our CEWales Exemplar Programme they will deliver significant returns on public sector investment and huge benefits for local communities across the north.”