New River College proposed improvement works

New River College is a school for students with social, emotional and mental health needs. The school is in need of modernisation in order to provide an optimal environment for these vulnerable young people, and ensure they are given the best opportunity to thrive.

Alongside the improvement of the school building for its occupants, Islington Council is also seeking to carry out works that will vastly reduce carbon emissions from the building, in line with the council’s decarbonisation aims.

The proposals therefore seek to provide significant social and environmental and economic benefits.

Summary of the improvement works:

• Increase the capacity of the school, allowing for more young people to be supported.
• Provide new and improved teaching facilities.
• Upgrade the external playground, using natural materials and sensory planting, which will provide a safe, calming yet engaging environment for pupils and staff, as well as an attractive outlook for neighbours.
• Replace the old, flat-roof sections of the building that are leaky, damp and beyond repair.
• Install a Ground Source Heat Pump that will cut carbon emissions from the building.

The works will involve installing the Ground Source Heat Pump; then demolishing the existing, dilapidated, single storey, flat-roofed extensions adjacent to the boundary wall. These will be replaced by a new, single-storey, flat-roofed extension (built to modern standards). The rooms within the new extension will receive daylight and ventilation via projecting rooflights positioned on the roof. The existing Victorian building will be refurbished internally to meet contemporary standards. The external landscaping will also be enhanced.

Project time frames

Phase 1: onsite winter 2022 – March 2023 (exact dates TBC)

• Installation of a Ground Source Heat Pump (GSHP) and associated groundworks, to provide a more sustainable method for heating the school.
• A planning application has been submitted for a new ‘shed’ enclosure – a like-for-like replacement for an existing external shed – to house the above-ground GSHP machinery.

Phase 2: onsite June 2023 – March 2024 (exact dates TBC)

• Internal refurbishment of the existing Victorian building.
• Replacement of existing windows with double glazed windows for better environmental performance.
• Demolition of lean-to extensions, to be replaced with a new, single-storey extension.
• Landscaping works.
• This phase of work will require planning permission.
• Ahead of the planning application, you are invited to view the proposals and offer feedback – see details below. 

Your feedback

If you wish to provide feedback on the above proposals, please complete the Improvements to New River College, Elthorne Road, feedback form by 16 December 2022.