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Nabarro advises Barnsley Borough Council on £1billion-plus schools building programme
15 November 2010
The Sheffield office of national law firm Nabarro LLP has helped Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council push ahead with its £1 billion-plus Building Schools for the Future programme.
This investment will now see the third and final phase of Barnsley’s Building Schools for the Future (BSF) scheme completed, transforming education in the Borough. Nabarro has worked closely with the Barnsley in-house BSF team since 2005.
Nabarro partner Mark Rocca explained: “Barnsley’s first two BSF phases showed that it could deliver new schools to a high standard and deliver great value, so the Council were pleased to have retained their funding for this third phase when, in the current economic climate, some authorities lost the funding for their BSF Schemes".
Work has already begun on the construction of the three schools under the final phase of Barnsley's BSF Scheme, which will all be funded through Private Finance Initiative. The first two phases saw contracts being signed for the construction and refurbishment of 8 new schools in Barnsley through a combination of traditional design and build and PFI contractual routes.
Nabarro’s role was on the final phase to put together the PFI arrangements, as part of a longer five year partnership with the Council. Nabarro supported the Council's in-house team in delivering the project providing specialist commercial, pensions and employment, banking and corporate law advice.
Construction has now commenced across all three phases of the BSF Scheme with the new Advanced Learning Centres being built to replace existing facilities in the Borough. Those new facilities will also benefit from a bespoke Information Communications Technology system which will deliver software, online resources and new computers to pupils.
Edna Sutton, Executive Director for Children Young People and Families has commented that the scheme represented a bold educational vision. She said, "Our BSF programme is totally transformational and will bring fantastic benefits for everyone in Barnsley for generations to come.”
The Nabarro team was led by Sheffield projects partner Mark Rocca, assisted by Kuldip Dhanoya, Katie Smith and Aneliese Martindale. The team was supported by employment, pensions and corporate specialists across both of the firm's London and Sheffield offices.
Nabarro worked alongside the Council's technical advisers Gleeds and financial advisers Deloittes to deliver the scheme.
