Willmott Dixon secures second phase of Oaklands College redevelopment

Willmott Dixon has been awarded a £13.4m contract for the second phase of the £62m redevelopment at Oaklands College in St Albans.

It comes after the company handed over the first phase in the summer, the Homestead building, which provides residential accommodation for up to 80 students as well as two on-site wardens.

Phase two, again procured through the Pagabo Major Works Framework, will be named The Evolution Centre to represent the importance it will have in the development of the College’s staff and students. The new facility will be the core learning building on campus and contains a mix of classrooms and support spaces for teaching staff, with seven classrooms forming a dedicated wing for Oaklands College’s Pathway 4 special needs provision. 

To support Willmott Dixon’s ambition to be net zero carbon by 2030, the site team have created early electrical connections to the grid so that the tower crane, site and welfare facilities do not need diesel generators.  The project is also utilising the local St Albans based community wood recycling to ensure that all timber not required is reused rather than sent away as waste.

Chris Tredget, managing director at Willmott Dixon in London and East, said: “After delivering the Homestead Building, the team is delighted to be back on site with the Evolution Centre and look forward to creating a new teaching space that will benefit the college and students for years to come.”

Zoe Hancock, principal of Oaklands College said: “The Evolution Centre will house 49 classrooms and will be a centre for technical, academic and vocational education. It will transform the learning experience for our students, and we are really looking forward to its completion in Autumn 2021."

Jonathan Parker, national framework manager at Pagabo, said: “We’re delighted to be continuing our close working relationship with Willmott Dixon, and are really pleased to see the second phase of work in motion at Oaklands College following the handover of the first phase earlier this year. This next phase of work, which was awarded via a single stage procurement process through a programme of works, made it quicker and simpler to get work underway on delivering teaching facilities and a dedicated wing for special needs provision that are set to have a hugely positive impact on both the college and the wider community.”