In a meeting on Friday 8 August 2025, Warwickshire Council's Portfolio Holder Decisions/Leader Decisions, chaired by Councillor George Finch, Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Children & Families, convened to discuss and approve the procurement process for the construction of Callendar Farm Primary School. The council authorised the Executive Director for Children and Young People to proceed with tendering and contracting for the project.

Callendar Farm Primary School

The Leader of the Council, Councillor George Finch, authorised the Executive Director for Children and Young People to carry out the procurement process for the works required to deliver the new primary school at Callendar Farm in Nuneaton. The Executive Director for Children and Young People is also authorised to enter into all relevant contracts and agreements to deliver the scheme, on terms and conditions acceptable to the Executive Director for Resources.

The decision was made to ensure that the school, which is due to open in September 2026, can be completed in time. Councillor Finch confirmed that in September 2024, the council agreed to add £16.5 million to the Education Capital Programme to deliver the new primary school, funded by developer contributions and education capital funding.

Councillor Keith Kondakor raised several points regarding the project:

• School safety zone: He emphasised the need for a school safety zone to be funded and installed before the school opens.
• Safe walking route: He highlighted the need for a safe walking route from Eaton Place across the missing bit of Link Road, noting that without it, residents would face a 1.8-mile walk to school, including crossing the A5 twice.
• More than reception class: Councillor Keith Kondakor suggested opening more than just a reception class in the first year, arguing that waiting seven years to fully utilise the £16 million school is inefficient. He proposed opening a reception and year 3 class to better serve families moving into new homes within three years.

Councillor Keith Kondakor also voiced concerns about the split responsibility between developers (who provide the roads) and the council (who provides the school), which he believes leads to safety issues. He noted that while the £16 million investment in the school is welcome, the area's thousands of new houses will increase in-year school place applications. He also stated that as the new school will be an academy¹, it will only be obliged to open a reception year.

Emma Basden-Smith, Strategy and Commissioning Manager - Education Capital & Sufficiency, clarified that the council's responsibility is to deliver the school, not the infrastructure. She advised that concerns about planning condition enforcement should be raised with the Local Planning Authority.

The report relating to this decision noted the environmental implications of the scheme:

The proposed scheme aims to ensure the sufficiency of, and accessibility to, provision in local settings avoiding the need to travel further afield to access education or childcare provision. The provision and access to local education provision supports the promotion of active travel and the health and well-being, economic and environmental benefits this can bring.

The report also noted that the council would look to use modern methods of construction to achieve efficiencies and benefits particularly in terms of time, cost, and the environment.

This decision was made under a General Exception Procedure Notice² because permission to procure associated works was omitted at the time of Cabinet approval in September 2024.