East Sussex Children's Centres

East Sussex County Council selected Terrapin to provide buildings for valuable community facilities. Timber framed, panel based permanent buildings for three children’s centres in the county were manufactured by Terrapin in our Milton Keynes factory and delivered to the sites ready for erection.

The centres are located on the sites of existing primary schools in St Leonards-on-Sea, Polegate and Eastbourne. Each one comprises a multi-function main room that can be divided using a movable wall, as well as a kitchen, toilets and an office/consulting room.

Children’s centres offer a range of services, information and support in their local community for all families with children under five. These include information about child health, advice during pregnancy and in the post-natal period, parenting support, life skills training and help with finding specialist groups. To provide a centre in every community within a finite budget, the council worked with Terrapin to create a repeatable solution which could be adjusted to suit the size of the community and the need for services in that area.

Using a ‘bespoke’ off-site approach, Terrapin was able to provide a flexible solution that allowed the buildings to be tailored to the needs of the individual sites. The Silverdale Children’s Centre in St Leonards-on-Sea is an 11m by 14m brick clad structure with a flat roof. The West Rise Children’s Centre in Eastbourne is a larger 22m by 13m flat roofed structure which incorporates a 30-place nursery. The Polegate Children’s Centre is a 25m by 15m building, again brick clad, but this time with a pitched roof.

Terry Brown, Senior Projects Officer for East Sussex County Council said that he was keen to use Terrapin again, being pleased with similar buildings provided by Terrapin in the past. So he was particularly pleased when the contract was put out to competitive tender and Terrapin was a clear winner in terms of specification, value and service.

Andy Baker, Terrapin Project Manager says, “Building off-site under controlled conditions allowed the highest levels of build quality and fit out to be achieved within a short lead time. The modular approach also means that the buildings can be reconfigured if future needs change.”

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Special offer

With many schools facing pressure for additional space. Terrapin has announced a special offer. More information