Design and build contract awarded for the Minster College in Leominster

Stepnell Limited has been awarded the design and build contract for the new Minster College Building in Leominster.

Herefordshire Council's cabinet has approved recommendations to award the contract, worth more than £20 million, to Stepnell Limited after a long period of consultation and discussion over design with the college students, staff, governors, local community and the local authority.

The new school will be built with sustainability in mind, incorporating a wind turbine and a sophisticated building management system to ensure energy efficiency.

Stepnell Limited designed and built the award winning Whitecross High School in Herefordshire which was opened in 2006. Like Whitecross, the new Minster College will have a sedum roof which is a low growing, shallow-rooted succulent leaved flowering plant. Apart from looking attractive, it is low maintenance and has a number of environmental benefits: it reduces water run-off significantly and insulates the roof against extremes of hot and cold, reducing energy bills and taking carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.

The existing Minster College building has been developed in stages, with the oldest part dating back to the 1920s, the main block dating back to the 1950s and some newer additions. The new school building, fit for the 21st Century, will include a state of the art community theatre, and will give the building a civic presence off South Street, raising its profile as a community place of learning.

Councillor Philip Price, cabinet member for children and young people, said: "Having met the design requirements within budget, we are pleased to awarded Stepnell Limited the contract to build the new facilities at Minster College. This will provide a much needed new school for the area's young people and an environmentally friendly base for many community facilities."

A planning application has been submitted and if approved work will begin to prepare the site in October, with building work scheduled to begin in November 2008. The scheme is due for completion in December 2010.