This is the second of three academy schools in Oldham for which Willmott Dixon has been preferred bidder since March 2010.
The new Waterhead Academy, designed by Aedas and sponsored by The Oldham College, is on the site of the former Orb Mill, off Huddersfield Road. It is scheduled to open in November 2012 and replace the current Waterhead Academy. It will include indoor and outdoor sporting provision available to all the local community – including a fitness and activity studio, floodlit artificial 3G pitch and hard surface areas for football, netball and tennis.
This new contract follows a deal signed in September 2010 for the new Oasis Academy Oldham on the site of the former Brook Mill in Hollinwood. Plans for the new EACT-sponsored Oldham Academy North – to be based on the current site of Our Lady’s, Royton replacing Grange School – are proceeding.
As part of its ‘local pound’ agenda, the company will invest a significant element of the Academies budget within Oldham providing local employment and training. This includes annual work experience placements and providing pupils with development opportunities in professions such as Graphic Design, Quantity Surveying and Structural and Civil Engineering
Anthony Dillon, managing director for Willmott Dixon’s office in Oldham, said, “With our offices literally round the corner, we are absolutely delighted that we can play a key role in helping develop three outstanding new places to learn and develop within our own community.”
Got a story? Email news@theconstructionindex.co.uk
