The latest round of CIF funding for school improvements and maintenance has been announced and once again, Lea Hough has helped several of the region’s academy schools and sixth form colleges to obtain millions of pounds for improvement works.
Overall, Lea Hough has had 34 of its bids approved by the Department for Education for schools across Lancashire and Cumbria who are set to benefit from the funding. In attaining approval for this number of projects, Lea Hough once again are the most successful school building consultants in Lancashire, Cumbria and Greater Manchester.
The types of project that have been approved include pitched roof replacement, flat roof replacement, new fire alarm systems, electrical re-wiring, new heating systems, new boundary fencing, safeguarding works, replacing windows, site security measures, boiler replacement, new hot water systems and health and safety improvements.
This year’s CIF announcement confirmed that a total of £456 million will be used to fund 1,000 projects. There have been 158 successful condition improvement fund applications in the North West, which has received £58.5 million funding in total.
The CIF is an annual round of funding designed for single academy schools, smaller academy trusts and sixth form colleges to apply for a share of money to improve the condition of their school buildings.
Applications via the CIF get more competitive every year, but despite this, Lea Hough have maintained their strong success rate in the number of bids they have had approved. Over the past 6 years, Lea Hough have helped to prepare successful bids totalling over £36 million, meaning a significant investment in educational infrastructure in Lancashire and beyond.
Michael Harrison, Partner and Head of Education at Lea Hough, said:
“The CIF represents a significant opportunity for education establishments to obtain government funding. We have now overseen hundreds of projects and have been able to see the positive impact obtaining CIF the funding has on academy schools and their pupils.
“We are delighted with the outcome, as are our school clients, who can now look forward to having improved facilities in time for the start of the new school year in September.”
Following the announcement, the team at Lea Hough, who will project manage the approved work, along with a number of contractors in Lancashire and Cumbria, will have a busy summer ahead.
For more information on Lea Hough’s services for schools and academies, including appealing the results of CIF bids and the preparation of bids for funding, please contact us here.
