Leeds-headquartered property consultant Eddisons has secured building improvement funding for schools across the UK, including more than £5m for Yorkshire academies in the latest round of the Government’s Condition Improvement Fund (CIF). A specialist in the education sector, Eddisons has now raised over £100m in successful CIF bids since 2016 to enable schools and colleges across the country to improve their estate.
Funding secured by Eddisons in the latest round of schools projects in Yorkshire includes £1m for a new roof at Prince Henry’s Grammar School in Otley, which is part of the Collaborative Learning Trust.
Five North Yorkshire primary schools within the Yorkshire Collaborative Academy Trust will also receive a total of almost £1m for new windows, a roof refurbishment and safeguarding measures. The schools are Bilton Grange in Harrogate and primaries at Lothersdale, Askwith, Leyburn and East Cowton. Bingley Grammar School has also been awarded £600,000 for new doors and windows.
The CIF programme is an annual round of bidding under which academy schools and colleges can apply for funding for the upkeep and improvement of their buildings and to fund expansion projects for schools that have been rated good or outstanding by Ofsted.
Eddisons’ national building and project consultancy team, which is led from the firm’s Leeds office, and also designs and project manages the delivery of schools’ CIF projects, has grown from a small team to a 30-strong department of project managers, building surveyors and architects, with further hires planned for the coming months as demand for its education services continues to grow.
Building and project consultancy head, Ian Harrington, said: “We are tremendously proud that this latest funding announcement means we have raised well over £100m of funding in total for our education sector clients since we began working in this area in 2016. The CIF projects really are essential to creating a better learning and work environment for both students and staff at schools and colleges across the UK.”
He added: “The CIF bidding procedure can seem impenetrable and Eddisons expert education team have built up huge knowledge and experience over the years to help deliver successful bids and projects that make a real difference to people’s lives.
“Every year the process of submitting a successful CIF bid becomes ever more competitive for schools and we are really pleased to say that we have maintained our position as a key adviser to the education sector, with an excellent success rate for our bids.”
