North Yorkshire Council’s executive will meet on Tuesday 18th August to consider a proposed £6.8 million investment aimed at maintaining and upgrading school buildings across the county.
The funding, provided through the Department for Education’s School Condition Allocation (SCA) grant, is designed to ensure local facilities remain safe, compliant, and fit for purpose. However, council officials emphasise that the grant covers only a fraction of the county’s overall needs, with North Yorkshire facing an estimated £20.6 million maintenance backlog and a further £62.3 million in planned maintenance requirements over the next five years.
As of April this year, the council maintains 175 educational sites, including three nurseries, 152 primary schools, 12 secondary schools, four special schools, and four pupil referral units.
Under the proposed scheme, £5.65 million is earmarked for essential maintenance, such as upgrading roofs, windows, and core building systems, alongside £1.5 million for urgent repairs. Additional allocations will cover health and safety improvements, asbestos management, accessibility enhancements, kitchen upgrades, building safety surveys, and plans to expand school-based nurseries.
Commenting on the proposal, Cllr Annabel Wilkinson, executive member for education, learning, and skills, stated: “Providing safe, modern and well-maintained school buildings is essential if we are to give children and young people the best possible environment in which to learn and thrive. While this proposed investment would help us address a number of priority maintenance and compliance issues, it is clear that the funding available falls far short of the overall needs of our school estate.”
She added that the council will continue lobbying central government for increased long-term funding to address structural challenges comprehensively. The full report on the School Capital Programme is available to view on the North Yorkshire Council website ahead of next week’s meeting.
