Business South May 2023

| 89 COMMUNITY Hāwea Flat School - Southbase Construction T T Kim Newth Booming population raises demand The Hāwea Flat School expansion is taking shape. Southbase Construction has been hard at work on site at Hāwea Flat School in recent months, building new classrooms to meet a pressing need for more teaching and learning space. Last year, the Ministry of Education announced plans to move the rural school – which dates back to 1882 - to an entirely new site at Lake Hāwea sometime in the next decade in response to projected future population growth but agreed to fund eight new relocatable classrooms in the meantime to meet the school’s immediate needs. Hāwea Flat School Principal Tania Pringle says the new classrooms are a pivotal requirement as a result of consistent, ongoing roll growth going back some years now. “I’ve been here since 2020 and we’ve gone from a roll of 240 students to 312 at the moment and we expect to go to 340 by the end of the year. People with younger families have more opportunities to get into home ownership here as it’s more affordable than Wānaka. There has been a lot of subdivision development in our school zone and the Upper Clutha area and we can see that reinforced in our school roll.” The burgeoning roll quickly outpaced an additional two-teacher portacom space delivered by the Ministry of Education in 2021. Plans had been drawn up for four new permanent teaching spaces, but that changed once the school relocation strategy was announced last year. Instead, the focus shifted to the relocatable classroom option. “In the interim, we have been using every nook and cranny and have had to be creative and flexible to make it work for staff and students.” Tania observes that relocatable classrooms are usually built off-site and relocated in modules, but Southbase sped up the process for Hāwea Flat School by bringing in prefab materials and building directly on site. The Southbase team put in long hours on site from mid-October 2022 to ensure the first block of two new classrooms would be ready in time for the start of the 2023 school year. Construction of the next two classrooms plus toilet block, and the final four classrooms plus toilets are now well underway and due for completion by the end of May. “Southbase have been incredible. It was quick turnaround on that first new block and their team worked very hard to achieve that. Their safety plans are exceptional. Children come first every time – and not just the children, but also the staff and wider public. They have been very considerate in how they work with us. There are often over 40 guys, including subcontractors, working on site on any given day, so this is not a small operation. I can’t fault them – they have been so easy to work with.” “Southbase have been incredible. It was quick turnaround on that first new block and their team worked very hard to achieve that. Their safety plans are exceptional.” As the construction work proceeds, the school’s services – including wastewater, water supply, fire alarm systems and other plant – are also being upgraded and landscaping work completed. The school has been without its bike park for some months now and Tania says the children are excited their upgraded park is also on track to reopen by the end of May. While the school could move in future, Tania says the focus right now is very much on today’s students. “Our school is an incredible site as it is and we want to provide our children with all the opportunities we can by putting time and effort into the site we’ve got.” www.aoteaelectric.co.nz • • • (03) 443 1260 23A Gordon Rd, Wanaka Suppliers & Installers of: • Tray roofing • Corrugate / 5 Rib • True Oak • Rooflogic System • TPO & Torch on membrane roofing • Metrotile • Windsor Garage Doors • Premier Insulation • Scaffolding P: 03 445 0553 • E: info@extremeroofing.co.nz

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