St.Helens The Heart of the North West

An ambitious project to rebuild a St Helens school is providing a timely boost to the town's economic well-being.

The multi-million pound scheme to bring Cowley Language College into the 21st century will cost  £21 million. The majority of the cash is being spent on local subcontractors.

Some of the firms to have worked on the scheme, include the AA Group, who provide structural steel, concrete floors and precast stairs, Fulwood Roofing, Murraywood Construction, providing substructures, drainage and external works, plus Fastrack, responsible for balustrading and sundry metalwork.

Anthony Dillon, managing director for Willmott Dixon, who are leading the project, said: "We place great emphasis on maximising the 'local pound' on our projects by ensuring we give as much work as possible to local companies.

"Cowley Language College is no different and our research has found that 41 per cent of our subcontract spend is with companies based within 10 miles, rising to 91 per cent within 30 miles. It's important that local projects benefit the local economy and we are very pleased with our success here."