Hull gets fast-track BSF following floods

Hull City Council's £220m Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme will be fast-tracked after the severe flooding last summer left many of its secondary schools severely damaged.

Talks with Education Secretary Ed Balls following the floods in June, which left most of Hull under water, have resulted in the city getting the green light to bring forward eight out of the 10 schools in the scheme by nearly two years.

Work on three of the eight schools is expected to start this year. The three schools, including Pickering Academy, are on two sites and will be let as one £40m contract through Partnerships for Schools' National BSF framework. The two sites are in the west of the city, where flood damage was most severe.

Schools in Hull's BSF programme will be built with raised floors to prevent future flood damage. More than 90% of Hull lies on a flood plain.

A Hull City council spokeswoman told CJ: "We have negotiated an accelerated programme with the education department because of the severity of the flood damage to some of our schools. The contract will be let shortly. Four bidders have shown interest."

Hull's BSF programme will see three new academies built, with another three secondary schools rebuilt and four schools remodelled.