Willmott Dixon Selected to Advance £46 Million School Rebuild Project in Wales

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On November 9, Powys County Council selected Willmott Dixon as the preferred contractor for the rebuild of Ysgol Bro Hyddgen, a project valued at £46 million (including VAT), located in the town of Machynlleth in central Wales. The plan is to build an all-through school accommodating 540 students, consolidating teaching facilities currently spread across two sites and incorporating childcare and early years education spaces.

The project adopts a design-and-build integrated model. In the next phase, Willmott Dixon will work with the county council, school leadership, the board of governors and other stakeholders to refine the architectural design and delivery plan. The project has already obtained full planning permission, with the design progressed to RIBA Stage 4, the technical design stage. With the preferred contractor now confirmed, the focus will shift from procurement preparation to detailed design coordination and refinement of the construction delivery plan.

The new school buildings will centralize teaching functions from the two existing campuses, covering educational needs across different age groups. Early-stage planning includes early years education and childcare facilities, community activity spaces, a special educational needs centre and outdoor sports pitches, with the pitches proposed to use third-generation artificial turf (3G). The interior will feature flexible spaces tailored to the teaching needs of different age groups, accommodating teaching, activities and campus public service functions.

The architectural design also sets clear environmental performance targets. The project is required to achieve a BREEAM Excellent rating, net zero carbon emissions in the operational phase, and embodied carbon below 600 kgCO2e per square metre. These targets cover building materials, the construction process and subsequent operation, requiring coordinated consideration of the building envelope, energy systems and material selection in the detailed design.

Project funding is jointly provided by the Welsh Government's Sustainable Learning Communities programme and Powys County Council. The previously announced funding arrangement is 65% from the Welsh Government and the remaining 35% from the county council. The £46 million figure is the estimated total project value, not the final construction settlement amount confirmed at this stage.

The school rebuild also involves adjustments to the local education system. Ysgol Bro Hyddgen currently operates a bilingual stream teaching model and will transition to a school with Welsh as the primary medium of instruction. The new buildings will need to be configured to accommodate the curriculum, student age structure and special educational needs.