Green Light For Major Education Campus At Whitecliffe, Ebbsfleet
Lee Evans Partnership’s (LEP’s) design for the Alkerden CoE Academy education campus in Whitecliffe, Ebbsfleet Garden City, Dartford, Kent, has been granted planning consent by Ebbsfleet Development Corporation (EDC).
The campus, to be funded and delivered by landowner and master developer Henley Camland, will offer more than 2,200 places to nursery, primary and secondary school pupils, as well as serve as a key community sports facility. It is projected to complete in the summer of 2023.
The scheme includes provision for a nursery, a new two-form-entry primary school, an eight-form-entry secondary school, a dual-use community sports centre with external sports pitches and associated ancillary facilities for the emerging local community.
The sports facilities will support more than 500 users at any particular time and will be designed to a Sports England specification. The combined schools and associated facilities will occupy an 11.1-hectare site, making it one of Kent’s largest educational facilities.
Lee Evans Partnership’s London Partner, Mark Nolan, said: “This is great news – this project is the result of close collaboration between the design team, Henley Camland, the operator – Aletheia Anglican Academies Trust – and Kent County Council, culminating in approval by the planners at EDC. We have imagined the campus as both an educational and civic centre. Careful consideration has been given to access and circulation routes across the site’s sloping landscape. These level changes, together with the use of various textures and materials, will help to engender a sense of place. The quality of this new learning environment will greatly benefit pupils and students as well as providing Ebbsfleet with a state-of-the-art sports and community facility.
The design places a strong emphasis on sustainability: the use of cross-laminated timber (CLT) as the key structural material in the primary school limits the amount of embodied energy in the building as well as minimising the use of VOCs (volatile organic compounds) in the construction process. The shape of the primary school’s rooftop ventilation cowls reference the oast houses and kilns once typical of the Kent landscape, allowing fresh air to circulate throughout the building. Photo voltaic cells across the roof areas will enable the campus to draw some of its energy requirements from a renewable source. The orientation and elevations of the building will maximise natural daylight, thermal comfort and air quality, while also limiting the school’s energy usage and carbon footprint.”
Lee Evans Partnership’s London Partner, Mark Nolan, continues: “The design places a strong emphasis on sustainability: the use of cross-laminated timber (CLT) as the key structural material in the primary school limits the amount of embodied energy in the building as well as minimising the use of VOCs (volatile organic compounds) in the construction process. The shape of the primary school’s rooftop ventilation cowls reference the oast houses and kilns once typical of the Kent landscape, allowing fresh air to circulate throughout the building. Photo voltaic cells across the roof areas will enable the campus to draw some of its energy requirements from a renewable source. The orientation and elevations of the building will maximise natural daylight, thermal comfort and air quality, while also limiting the school’s energy usage and carbon footprint.”
Peter Nelson, Director of Henley Camland (landowner, client and overall project director) adds: “We are delighted to bring forward Alkerden CofE Academy, this ultramodern education hub sitting at the heart of the Whitecliffe Development. Aside from the advanced education provision, the community will be able to access the superb sporting facilities during out-of-school hours. Easily accessible via Fastrack and the network of cycleways and footpaths nearby, it means all users will have access to excellent facilities supporting healthy and active lifestyles, as well as education.”
