Parents of children at Wanstead High are demanding Redbridge Council hold a debate about the building work at the school which has stalled without even a contractor being appointed.
Children have now joined AND LEFT the school with building work taking place. And yet still there is no end in sight. The previous contractors went out of business in February and still no replacement contractor has been appointed.
Parents have organised a petition to get the issue discussed at the full council and have nearly collected enough signature to trigger an automatic discussion. You can see that petition here. Any local resident can sign it.
The council now says it is appointing a new contractor and is going to focus on getting the school part of the project completed before the leisure centre — which is logical. But for the wider Wanstead community it does rather put off any word of when the long awaited pool will be completed.
This has not been a happy experience for anyone. It was hit by a combination of Covid, bad luck, and one delay after another. But the question has to be asked – would or could this possibly have taken so long if the project had been a private scheme? (But please don’t anyone suggest that work is again halted while a review takes place into how the project has been managed. )
The leader of Redbridge Council, Kam Rai, issued this statement:
I want to provide you with an update on the education block project at Wanstead High School and the wider Wanstead Leisure Centre development.
From the outset, our vision for this site has been clear: to enhance an already excellent school and provide a modern leisure facility that the whole community can be proud of and deserves. While both remain important priorities, I want to be equally clear that our immediate focus is completing the school building and providing the classrooms and facilities that the school and its pupils have been waiting for far too long.
Many of you will be familiar with this project, so I will not dwell on the history. But I do want to be honest about how we arrived at this point.
It was not simply the insolvency of the contractor, Jerram Falkus, that led to these delays. Their performance during the project and what they’ve left behind fell short of the standards expected, and those failures were then compounded when the company entered insolvency before the building could be completed.
The council awarded the contract and was responsible for overseeing its delivery, and I do not seek to avoid that fact. But it would be wrong of me to suggest that the contractor’s insolvency alone explains the situation we find ourselves in today.
Since these issues emerged, our priority has been to get the project back on track and ensure the education block can be completed properly. We all want to see the building opened as quickly as possible, but I believe it is essential that the decisions we take now are the right ones for the long-term future of the school.
To do that, we have carried out a thorough review of the site to establish exactly what work has been completed, whether it meets the required standards, and what remains outstanding. That review has now concluded.
While none of us would have wanted to be in this position, this gives us an opportunity to secure a contractor with the expertise, capacity and track record needed to finish the project successfully and avoid the problems that have affected progress so far. As soon as a decision on the contractor has been made, we will provide confirmation, setting out what happens next and the timetable for delivery.
Alongside this work, we have been working closely with the school and other stakeholders to understand the challenges created by these delays and to minimise their impact wherever possible. We have also continued to maintain rigorous health and safety measures to ensure the construction site remains safely separated from the day-to-day operation of the school.
I know people also want certainty about the leisure centre. Let me assure you that we remain committed to delivering the wider vision for the site, including the new leisure facilities.
However, our immediate focus must be on getting the education block project completed in full and we must avoid another school year being impacted. As that work progresses and a route forward is firmly established, our focus will turn to the leisure centre so that it too can move forward and get back on track as quickly as possible.
Going forward, I want to ensure the local community is brought closer to these projects and have asked officers to establish a regular forum with parents, local residents and other stakeholders to ensure that updates can be given, questions can be answered and your views can be heard directly.
I know this project has tested the patience of pupils, parents, staff and residents alike. It has certainly tested mine. For that reason, I want to end by apologising for the ongoing disruption and uncertainty that these delays have caused.
The community deserved better than this. Our focus now is on putting things right, completing the school building, and delivering the facilities that the people of Wanstead were promised.
Cllr Kam Rai
Leader of Redbridge Council
