The discovery of more extensive burial remains on the site of the new Golden Lane campus has caused a delay to the project.
When finished, the project would see the co-location of Fortune Park Children's Centre, Prior Weston primary school and the primary department of Richard Cloudesley in purpose-built facilities called Golden Lane campus.
While thorough, expert-led tests prior to the groundwork revealed a burial site there, contractors only discovered the greater extent of the remains in April and have since been working carefully under guidance from experts at the Museum of London Archaeology Service (MOLAS) and English Heritage to remove and re-bury them. This work continues.
It is now clear that the start of building work and therefore the opening date will have to be put back.
Fortune Park Children's Centre is temporarily co-located at Moreland Primary School while the building works take place at the Golden Lane site.
The council have been asking for views on whether to expand Prior Weston Primary School so that Prior Weston Primary School and Fortune Park Children's Centre become one school from 1 September 2007, the date on which the new buildings had been expected to open. Because of the delay to the building work, the head teachers of Prior Weston and Fortune Park have asked that the changes be deferred until 1 April 2008 at the latest.
This means that Moreland Primary School may need to be used as the location for the Fortune Park Childrens's Centre until 1 April 2008.
Any comments on the proposed change of date for expanding Prior Weston must be given to Geraldine Ling in the Director's Office, CEA@Islington, Laycock Street, N1 1TH or email Geraldine.Ling.cea@islington.gov.uk by Friday 11 August.
Cllr Ursula Woolley, executive member for children and young people said:
"Everyone wants this project to be completed on time so this delay is frustrating for all of us.
It has been caused by the very large number of burial remains found on the site which are taking several months to investigate and remove. We are working with MOLAS to make sure this is being done as carefully and efficiently as we can.
fI they are able, our project mamagers will try to recover some of the time we have lost.
We are writing to parents and the schools involved now to inform them and will be writing again at the start of next term to give them the latest news."
ENDS
Page Last Updated: 29 July 2008