A primary school is one of the first assets to be constructed at Mindenhurst, a new
community taking shape on former military land in Surrey.
14 NSC
Sept 19
Home to an Army training centre
since the late nineteenth century,
Deepcut (known as the Princess
Royal Barracks since the 1960s)
is being redeveloped into a new community
with 1,200 new homes, 69 hectares of public
green space and village amenities.
This new era for the historic site is
being delivered by Skanska on behalf of
the Defence Infrastructure Organisation
(DIO) and forms part of the wider Project
Wellesley. This involves the construction
of a new training facility at Worthy Down
near Winchester (see box) that, in part, will
replace Deepcut.
All military functions and personnel are
being relocated in a phased programme,
which is due to complete by February 2021.
Once vacated, the remaining Army buildings
will be demolished, with the exception
of three listed structures, making way for
further phases of the redevelopment scheme.
Currently, work is all being undertaken
‘outside the wire’ on land adjacent to the
functioning military facility. So far, two
parcels of land have been awarded to
housebuilders with more to follow in the
near future, on a scheme that Skanska
expects to run until 2025.
Known as Mindenhurst, the new
community will boast village-style retail
outlets, business premises, a pub, a
community hall adjoining the site’s historic
garrison church of St Barbara at Deepcut
and a new primary school. The latter is
already under construction and is due to
take-in its first pupils in September 2020.
“The first homes are nearing completion
and there will shortly be a need for the
420-capacity primary school,” explains
Skanska Development Manager Peter Cater.
The T-shaped steel-framed primary
school building has a distinctive design, as
its main two-storey classroom block forming
the T’s upright section is topped with a fourpeaked
saw-tooth roof.
“As a key piece of infrastructure, we
wanted the school to be a signature building
for the site, acting as a signpost to the
development as it has a prominent position
near to a new main road that we have built,”
adds Mr Cater.
The saw-tooth feature not only creates a
stand-out building, it also means the upper
level of classrooms will have a higher floorto
ceiling height and will be flooded with
natural light as the vertical sections of the
roof will have large glazed windows.
The roof is formed with a series of
cranked south-facing rafters, with a bolted
Education
School parades redevelopment
FACT FILE
Mindenhurst Primary
School, Surrey
Main client:
Defence Infrastructure
Organisation
Architect: AWW
Main contractor:
Skanska
Structural engineer:
Skanska
Steelwork contractor:
William Haley
Engineering
Steel tonnage: 220t
“The overall design for this
eye-catching structure could
not have been done in any
material other than steel.”
The school has
been designed as a
landmark for the new
community
/Residential_and_mixed-use_buildings
/Construction
/Education_buildings
/Steel-supported_glazed_facades_and_roofs