Urgent repairs to be carried out at 61 schools

About £14m will be spent on urgent repairs at 61 schools in a county to ensure they can operate safely, a council has said.

Lancashire County Council's Cabinet is set to approve the plans on Thursday, with "vital repairs" proposed for the selected primary and secondary schools in Lancashire to take place in 2025-26.

The programme is funded by a grant from the Department for Education (DfE).

Councillor Jayne Rear said: "It is essential that school buildings are kept in good repair to ensure they remain a safe place for young people, teachers and the whole school community."

Rear, who is cabinet member for education and skills, added: "We've looked at the amount of DfE funding we're likely to receive and drawn up a list of schools that need priority repair work to ensure they can continue to operate safely with little risk of disruption to young people's education."

She said protecting the environment was also a major consideration and repairs and maintenance work would contribute towards the reduction of CO2 levels where possible.

"We know that schools are still under significant pressure and we will continue to work and support them however we can," Rear added.

An authority spokesperson said it had identified the "highest priority works" in schools.

Schools on the list include Larches High School in Preston, Brunshaw Primary School in Burnley and Lathom High School in Skelmersdale.

Lancashire County Council's cabinet will consider the proposals at its meeting at 14:00 GMT on Thursday.

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