Campus Whitehaven – which has created state-of-the-art new facilities for St Benedict’s Catholic High School and Mayfield Special School – has scooped three prestigious awards.
The £30m Campus Whitehaven project was recognised as the best Building Project of the Year – Civils – for the whole region in the North West Regional Construction Awards (NWRCA), which celebrate best practice in the construction industry.
Campus Whitehaven also won the Sub-Regional Best Project of the Year Award for Cumbria, as well as the Integration and Collaborative Working Award, recognising a project where collaborative working has delivered outstanding results.
Campus Whitehaven has radically improved the teaching and learning environment for all students and brought both schools together on a single site.
The campus project, which was officially opened by The Princess Royal earlier this month, has delivered fantastic new facilities, including top-class sports facilities such as an all-weather 4G sport pitch available for the whole of Copeland.
The £30m investment in the campus came from a range of partners including The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, Sellafield Sites Ltd, Copeland Community Fund and Cumbria County Council. Wates Construction was the main contractor.
NWRCA judges recognised the high level of collaboration and engagement with a large number of stakeholders throughout the design and build, and that this collaboration played a key role in the project’s overall success.
Jamie Reed, head of corporate affairs for Sellafield Ltd, said: “To see the achievements of our community celebrated in these regional awards is very gratifying. I’m absolutely delighted. Campus Whitehaven is a world class learning environment and a real statement of the confidence we have in the future of our community. Through every step, from concept to funding to design, construction, and handover, it has been an exemplary project with collaboration at its heart.”
Cllr Keith Hitchen, Chair of Copeland Community Fund said: “The Fund is delighted that Campus Whitehaven has received such excellent recognition winning not one but three awards in what is a celebration of best practice and best value in construction in the North West. The Campus was our most significant investment grant to date and is already showing significant potential for growth of its community facilities. We are proud to have been able to contribute funding to this award winning project.”
Cllr David Southward, Cumbria County Council Cabinet Member for Economic Development, said: “Campus Whitehaven is a magnificent project which the local community can be proud of and will serve them well for many years. As a chartered civil engineer myself, I’m thrilled the campus has been recognised within the construction industry by scooping no fewer than three prestigious awards.”
A number of other Cumbria County Council projects were category winners in the North West Regional Construction Awards, presented at a ceremony at the Titanic Hotel, Liverpool, on Friday evening.
Cumbria County Council won the Client of the Year Award for the Infrastructure Recovery Programme, established in partnership with Mott MacDonald following Storm Desmond to repair, rebuild and reinstate damaged infrastructure. The £120m programme consists of approximately 1,000 individual projects delivered over a four-year period.
Sandside Lodge School in Ulverston, built for the county council by main contractor Seddon Ltd, was named winner of the Health, Safety and Wellbeing Award. The £8.6m project will create a purpose-built, 80-place special school with modern teaching facilities for children with severe and profound learning needs.
In addition, the county council project to provide safe and hygienic dining room and kitchen facilities at Levens Primary School was runner-up in the Offsite Construction Award category.
Winners from the North West Awards will be put forward to the national Constructing Excellence Awards taking place in London in November 2019.
