Construction BUSINESS

Atkins has been appointed as part of the design team for the new 600 pupil school for Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí in Tralee, Co Kerry. The contract signing for the newly appointed design team took place at the Kerry Education and Training Board (Kerry ETB) Head Office last week. The formal appointment of the Design Team by Kerry ETB is a significant milestone in the delivery of the new school building and provides real impetus for the completion of the design, planning and construction phases of the project with a target completion date of the academic year 2019/20. Atkins is providing Civil and Structural design and PSDP services for the project.

Kevin Holland, Project Manager, Atkins said: “Atkins is well-placed to deliver this project, because of our technical excellence and successful track record. We look forward to completing this exciting project successfully with Kerry ETB, Oppermann Associates Architects, Varming Consulting Engineers, McGahon Surveyors and the rest of the team.”

The new school will provide a state-of-the-art accommodation for staff and students and will include the following:

• Over 20 general purpose classrooms
• Specialists room including multimedia, music, design and communications graphics etc.
• Science laboratories
• Arts rooms
• Home economics room
• Construction studies, engineering and technology rooms, school library, general purpose areas, students dining area, staff room etc.

In addition the new school building project will include a full size PE hall for the school. Justin Norman, Director Atkins commented: “Atkins is delighted to be appointed to Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí, this state-of-the-art school is a very important and significant project for Tralee and will have a positive impact on pupils and the local community.”

Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí’s enrolments are growing year on year and the construction of the new school will provide a modern school building to cater for enrolments of 600 students. The Director of Schools for Kerry ETB, Ann O’Dwyer stated: “The new Gaelcholáiste forms part of the very successful Mitchels/Boherbee Community Regeneration project and Kerry ETB looks forward to consulting with the local community in the coming months as the project design is being developed.”

The recently appointed Design Team are beginning work immediately on progressing the design and planning phase of the project which will involve significant interaction with the Department of Education and Skills and Kerry Co. Co. The project will be managed internally in Kerry ETB by the Head of Corporate Support and Capital Development Edward O’Neill.

Speaking following the signing of the contracts with the Design Team Edward O’Neill said: “I look forward to working closely with the Design Team in the completion of this building project. The new school building will be delivered under the devolved grant funding approach with the ETB taking overall responsibility for the timely and efficient construction of the new school. This is the largest capital project to be undertaken by Kerry ETB in recent years.”