o The Construction and Engineering Centre, because it was a later addition to the project, is to have a separate BREEAM assessment and the College has targetted an Excellent rating under the Schools 2008 criteria. This means that the building will be assessed not only at the design stage but also immediately post construction. The design team have undertaken a provisional assessment to influence the design elements and this indicates that the Excellent rating is a realistic aim.

o The total cost of the main College and sports development, including professional fees and VAT is £52.6 million. The total cost of the Construction and Engineering centre is £6.2 million.

o For the main College, the cost of the services elements, which includes heating, cooling,ventilation, electrical, IT and communications installations, lifts and water systems is £7.85 million. The cost of the external works which include car parking, landscaping, fencing, and sports pitches including an all-weather floodlit pitch, amounts to £3.77 million.

o For the Construction and Engineering Centre the cost of the services elements is £890,765. The cost of the external works is £231,630

o The internal floor area of the main College building is 18,370 m2. The building is four storeys in height and the frame is of post-tensioned concrete construction. The external envelope of the building is composed of extensive glazed areas with rendered walls interspersed with terra cotta and trespa cladding. The roof is flat concrete with a membrane cover.

o The Sports Hall building has an internal floor area of 1802 m2. The building is a steel framed structure of single storey but with additional height for the hall itself. The Construction and Engineering Centre is a single storey building with an internal floor area of 2,291 m2. The building has been given extra height throughout most of its area to accommodate open-plan workshops.

o The total site area is 13.4 hectares, including the sports hall, pitches and Construction and Engineering Centre. Before the commencement of development all of the land was amenity grassland, with some football pitches laid out on the northern part. However, because of poor drainage, the pitches were unusable for long periods during autumn and winter.

o The internal space of the main College is split into the following functional uses:

Classrooms/teaching spaces 8671m2
Offices/staff workrooms 2366m2
Food areas 881m2
Toilets, showers and storage 652m2
Circulation space 3679m2
Store rooms 370m2
Stairs and lifts 1080m2
Plant and services 291m2

o The internal space of the Construction and Engineering centre is split into the following uses:

Workshops 1228m2
Teaching spaces 150m2
Offices/workrooms 118m2
Toilets/showers and changing 100m2
Store rooms 107m2
Plant and services 82m2
Circulation space 506m2

o The College has given an undertaking that outside of its core hours, there will be the opportunity for community hire of the sports facilities including the sports hall, synthetic pitch, grass pitches, fitness suite and dance studio. The College has also entered into an agreement that it will share the sports facilities with the adjoining St John Fisher High School. Facilities within the main College building such as meeting rooms, classrooms and the lecture theatre will also be available for hire by community groups, subject to availability. The specialised workshop facilities within the Construction and Engineering centre are likely to be of interest to local schools and the College is in discussions about arrangements for shared use.

o The predicted electricity consumption for the main college building is 59 kWh/m2 and for the Sports Hall and Construction and Engineering Centre it is 69kWh/m2.

o The buildings do not rely on fossil fuel for their heating requirements, as they will all be served by a rapeseed oil fired boiler.

o There is no significant renewable energy generation plant, but some of the external areas will be lit by lights powered from photo-voltaic cells.

o The predicted water use within the main College and Construction and Engineering Centre is 2.34m2 per person per year, and for the Sports Hall it is 9.45m2 per person per year. The significantly higher consumption in the Sports Hall is due to the use of showers. The College has specified and installed a rainwater harvesting system and it is calculated that this will provide about 50% of the non-potable water required by the buildings.

o The College has a commitment to sustainable development and has always looked to achieve this through innovative design. The following are some of the sustainable features that have been included in these buildings:

Use of a cast concrete frame on the main building to provide thermal mass for heating and cooling.

Installation of rapeseed oil fired boilers.

Provision of a rainwater harvesting system.

Sustainable drainage system achieved through permeable block paving to car parks.

Lighting systems fitted with daylight sensors and proximity sensors so lights remain off until required.

Sensors on taps to prevent excessive water use.

Windows fitted with automatic actuators to provide daytime ventilation and nighttime cooling.

External lighting powered by photovoltaic cells

Fully integrated Building Management System for efficient control of heating, cooling, lighting and ventilation.

o The site contractor, Bam Construction, has a good record in lowering the environmental impacts of the construction process. The contractor has set up an environmental committee for the monitoring of performance, sharing of good practice and discussion of new ideas. The company has also been accredited for the Considerate Constructors Scheme and has almost achieved the maximum score available.The initiatives employed at this site include the following:

All spoil contained on site by adjusting ground levels.

All waste paper is recycled

Excess concrete wash-out from the main building frame was stored and used as fill on the Construction and Engineering Centre.

Carbon emissions of all vehicles arriving at site have been logged with a view to reducing the overall impact.

Reclaimed railway ballast was used as fill to avoid the use of new stone.

The use of a new rigid plasterboard reduced the quantity of plywood for pattresses.

Reclaimed water is used to spray site roads.

All waste materials segregated and recycled where possible. The company has a policy of reducing the amount of waste being taken to landfill by 75% and is achieving its target at this site.