Scope and Content
Letter from County Architect to Chief Education Officer; 'With reference to your form BM2 dated 25 June 1972 requesting replacement of the formica to the serving hatch, work bench and two preparation tables [in the canteen], the cost will be in the region of £160. In view of this I suggest including this figure in the 1975/76 Maintenance Estimates if you are in agreement'; 5 August 1974
Letter from same to same; 'Further to a verbal request from the Headmaster, my Electrical Engineer has now visited the school in respect of the Hall/Gymnasium lighting. The fittings which are suspended tungsten are completely unsuitable and in fact create a hazard to anyone performing normal gymnasium activities. I consider that these fittings should be replaced by ceiling mounted fluorescents, the cost of which would be approximately £360'; 6 January 1975
Memo from Chief Education Officer to County Architect regarding work on St Margarets of Scotland Junior School [£360], Foxdell Infant School [£450] and Rotheram High School [£250]; 'The financing of these jobs is the responsibility of the County Architect and, if money is not available, the work will have to be postponed until it can be found. There is no provision for such amounts from Education sources and there is a limit of £100 for any item funded from contingency money. The Fire Alarm system at Foxdell Infant School should be charged to the special Fire Officers Recommendation Account which is, I understand, exhausted for this year. I shall be grateful if you will let me know whether there is likely to be contingency money available from Maintenance Estimates for 1975/76 or if the amounts concerned will have to be submitted for the 1976/77 estimates'; 8 January 1975
Reply; 'No provision is made in the 1975/76 Estimates for St Margarets and Rotheram High. General provision for Chief Fire Officer's recommendations is included and could be available for Foxdell Infants, having agreed overall cutbacks and priorities ...All improvements are included in estimates where known, but may have to be excluded in the present financial climate dependent on Committee decisions'; 27 January 1975
Letter from County Architect to Chief Education Officer; 'I wish to confirm the conversation of 24 June last, between my Area Building Surveyor and the Head Teacher, Mr C J Parker, when it was pointed out that all repairs to external doors are the responsibility of the School Managers and therefore no action will be taken on these matters'; 3 July 1975
Letter from same to same; 'I wish to inform you that the estimated cost of providing a shelf above the coat hooks and combined bench seat with shoe rack underneath [in the canteen] would be in the region of £70'; 3 July 1975
Reply; 'In view of the heavy cost, I would be grateful for a further estimate, excluding the bench seat'; 24 July 1975
Letter to A G Peck, 5-7 Wenlock Street, Luton, informing them that their tender for Replacement Worktops - Canteen, had been unsuccessful; 4 March 1976
Letter to A W Oakley, 2 Thornhill Road, Luton, informing them that their tender for the above for £590 had been accepted; 4 March 1976
Memo from Southern Area Education Officer to Chief Education Officer; 'Mr Hughes, the Supervisory Caretaker, reported that the heating in the Head's office and the Secretary's room appears to be operating correctly at present, but this cannot be checked until there is a cold spell and he has made an appropriate note in his diary to re-visit the school. Dampness is very bad in rooms 10 and 11, also the Head Teacher's stock room. From inspection of the external part of that building several windows need re-puttying and the brickwork seems to be porous. In the circumstances I should be pleased if arrangements may be made with the County Architect for the Surveyor to carry out a full inspection as you will know that if the fault lies in the outside of the building this would not be our responsibility'; 14 April 1976
Reply from County Architect; 'My Area Building Surveyor reports as follows: "The external brickwork of this school is porous and is causing damp patches on the internal plaster surfaces, and the external putty to several windows is defective". This work is the School Managers' responsibility, and until it is rectified, I shall be unable to proceed with the internal decorations programmed for the current financial year'; 17 May 1976
Report from M J Pollard, Heating Engineer, Luton; 'I recently made a visit to the Junior/Infant Schools and found that they are heated by two Crain Whitehall No. 2 - 8 section boilers, running at 180F. Each classroom is heated by a unit fan, manufactured by Andrew Weatherfoil. The output of these, I cannot find out. With the boiler plant running at 180F, the flow and operation of these fan heaters is satisfactory and working efficiently, but the classrooms are not heating satisfactorily. I was informed that the school has always been under-heated, there are letters and reports dating back to the opening of the school, held by the Head Teacher. I would therefore consider that the fan heaters are undersized. The rooms are 30' x 45' x 10' high approximately, with glass all one side and stramit board roof. I think that we should visit this site, before any reply is sent to the Chief Education Officer's memorandum'; 3 February 1977
Memo from Chief Education Officer; 'The Managers of the Infant and Junior schools have drawn my attention to the following points: There is no fencing between the site and the Motorway. An existing hedge has numerous gaps. No internal painting has been done since 1969; 15 December 1976
Reply from County Architect; 'There is a fence between the site and the motorway, and this is in good condition. The right hand boundary fence requires replacing, and this work is in our 1976/77 estimates. This is out to tender at the present moment. The Head Teacher is aware of this, and there is no danger of children straying onto the motorway. With reference to the internal decorations I would refer you to my memoranda ....regarding the external porous brickwork, which requires action by the School Managers, before any internal decoration can be commenced'; [December? 1976]
Reply from Head Teacher to Chief Education Officer; 'Regarding the fence between the school site and the motorway, it seems that some incorrect information has been given to you, and I agree that the motorway fence is in good condition. I appreciate that the right hand boundary fence is to be replaced in the current estimates. Concerning the internal school decoration, I have been instructed by the Chairman of the [School] Managers to tell you that the external brickwork has been surveyed by Mr Kay, the architects, and tenders are out for estimate. The work is definitely going to be carried out in March. We would therefore appreciate the commencement of tenders for the internal decoration which could be carried out in the summer term. Bearing in mind the financial situation for 1977/78, it would be obviously helpful if orders for this work could go out in the current financial year'; 2 February 1977
Letter to P M Specialist Builders, Unit N, Kingsway Industrial Estate, Luton, Hunt Decorators, 143 Cutehoe Road, Luton, and H J Haywood & Son Ltd, 65 Periwinkle Lane, Hitchin, informing them that their tenders for Re-decoration of Toilets (Junior School) had been unsuccessful; 14 March 1977
Letter to Otto Builders, 4 Maulden Close, Luton, informing them that their tender for the above for £961 had been accepted; 14 March 1977
Letter from B D Kaye, Chartered Architects, to Chief Education Officer, states that five contractors were approached to submit tenders for external re-decoration and repairs, of these only two returned tenders: M C Conneely Ltd, Luton, for £4,656.60, and T J Doyle, Luton, for £5199.73; 'We shall be pleased to receive approval in the sum of £4,656.60, excluding VAT and Professional Fees, from the Department of Education and Science to carry out this work in April 1977'; 15 March 1977
Memo from Chief Education Officer to County Architect; 'I attach copies of a letter together with Specification of Works required to be carried out and materials to be used in the external repainting and sundry repairs. As you will see, item 14 [see below] is the responsibility of the Authority. I should be very grateful if you would let me know whether you consider this work to be necessary and also whether there will be sufficient funds for it to be carried out'; 24 March 1977
Reply; 'Will you please inform me of the estimated cost of item No. 14, so that I can give my decision regarding funds'; 5 April 1977
Further letter from B D Kaye; 'I confirm that the Local Education Authority Liability will be £570 plus £71 fees, excluding VAT. May I mention that the Contractors' estimate is open for acceptance for a period of two months which will shortly be expiring - if there is any way in which you might be able to expedite this (to avoid increases in costs) it would be appreciated'; 29 April 1977
Letter from Department of Education and Science stating that the Secretary of State approves the proposal at a cost of £4.656 to provide for external decorations and repairs; 20 April 1977
Letter from County Architect to Chief Education Officer; 'I regret to inform you that the cost of Item No. 14 (kitchen, external gates, and playground equipment) at £570 is not acceptable. My Area Building Surveyor has measured the work and estimates that the cost should be in the region of £270. Will you please query this amount with the School Managers'; 17 May 1977
Letter from M C Conneely Ltd, 56 Stoneygate Road, Luton, gives breakdown of tender:
School meals building £465.11
Fencing, gates and playground equipment £ 75.60
Main building and classrooms £4,115.89 = £4,656.60 2 March 1977
Letter from B D Kaye; 'We shall be interested to receive a computation of your Architect's estimate of £270, which is so much lower than the competetive estimate we obtained in the sum of £570'; 26 May 1977
Reply from County Architect gives breakdown of costs totalling £270.65; mentions asbestos soffits; 'Please note - I am confident that this work could be carried out within this figure'; 27 June 1977
Reply from B D Kaye; 'The breakdown of prices is as follows:
Kitchen decorations £270 plus 12 1/2 % profit, attendance and facilities
Repairs to kitchen £127 plus preliminaries at 8 % Total £465.21 [sic]
Fencing and Gates £40 plus 12 1/2 % profit, attendance and facilities
Repairs to above £25 plus preliminaries at 8 % Total £75.60 [sic]
To this should be added repairs to the asphalte roofing (not included in your breakdown); proportion of Contingency Sum on the whole Contract (also not included in your breakdown) and proportion of Professional Fees. Subject to perusal and ageement of Final Account, the preliminary Local Education Authority liability should be as stated in our letter dated 29 April; 5 September 1977
County Architect still unhappy with figures; 'I regret that the information given by B D Kaye appears excessive for the following reasons:
Kitchen Decorations - The value of works should not exceed £190.65. The rates allowed are higher than those I usually pay to my local painting Contractors
Repairs to Kitchen - I allowed £25, but I should be pleased to receive full details of work and cost
Decorations to Fencing and Gates - I allowed £35, which should be ample for this small amount of work
Repairs to above - Please forward details of this work and costs
Repairs to Asphalte Roof - A small amount of work has been carriedout on the roof, but a full breakdown of cost will be required before I can make a full assessment
Contingency - A proportion of the Contingency sum should not apply, as this is omitted at final account unless unforeseen work has been carried out. Please forward details; 6 October 1977
Further breakdown by B D Kaye; Builders Work and Professional Fees total £584.21 plus £46.71 VAT; 28 November 1977
Letter from County Architect approving costs for Asphalte repairs, kitchen door repairs, fencing and gates, but still queries amount for kitchen decoration and repairs; 15 December 1977
Further Letter from County Architect after receiving revised costs for kitchen decoration and repairs; 'I wish to confirm my acceptance of the revised figure of £367.90 plus £29.42 VAT as set out in your revised computation'; 17 January 1978
Letter from County Architect to Chief Education Officer; 'At the request of the Luton Foreman Caretaker, Mr Hughes, after a complaint by the new caretaker, my Area Building Surveyor has inspected the internal decorations at the Caretaker's House, and reports that these internal decorations are in a very poor condition. The new caretaker is prepared to carry out the work himself providing the County Council provide the materials'; 27 April 1977
Reply; 'As there is no contingency money available, it will not be possible for materials to be provided from that fund, but if it can be financed from day-to-day maintenance, this will be very helpful and acceptable'; 6 May 1977
Reply; 'I wish to confirm that I have arranged to supply a limited amount of decorating material for the Caretaker's use, out of my Day to Day maintenance fund, and my Area Building Surveyor has been instructed accordingly'; 17 May 1977
Drawing of School layout; scale 1:200; total floor area 1,593 m2; 17 June 1976
Letter from C J Parker, Headmaster, regarding the staff room, office, and Head Teachers room in the administration block; 'The school interior was last re-decorated in 1969, the year before I came to St Margaret's. At that time the office and my room were included in the work, but naturally they are both looking fairly the worse for wear. In the case of the staffroom, no work was done here, so apparently the staff set to work and did it themselves. This means that, as far as we are concerned, the Local Education Authority has not spent any public money on the staffroom decoration since 1960, the year that the school opened. I would like to make an appeal that these three rooms be decorated'; 19 October 1977
Reply from County Architect following inspection by Chief Building Surveyor; 'Although the decorations are in a poor condition, they are no worse than many other Schools which have not been decorated for 8 - 9 years'; 22 November 1977
Further letter from Headmaster; 'I appreciate the need for economy, but I was wondering if you would consider the following compromise. Bearing in mind that the costing of the whole work is split on a 40-60 basis [Borough Architect's approximate figures], labour taking the larger share, and materials the smaller, would the County supply the latter if we here at St Margaret's supplied the former? We are all prepared to roll up our sleeves and decorate the three rooms ourselves if the materials were available'; 14 December 1977
Reply from County Architect; 'I regret that I cannot agree with the Head Teachers' request that we supply the materials for this work whilst they supply the labour, as this would set a precedent for other Schools to make a similar request, and I do not have the necessary funds available'; 24 January 1978
Letter to J Sapsworth Limited, 92 Marsh Road, Luton, informing them that their tender for Internal Redecorations - Canteen, at Hillborough Infant and Junior, Rotheram High, and St Margaret of Scotland Junior Schools, had been unsuccessful; 12 January 1978
Letter to P M Specialist Builders Limited, Unit N, Kingsway Industrial Estate, Luton, informing them that their tender for the above for £1,710 had been accepted; 12 January 1978
Drawing No. 1; Painting and Repair Plan by B D Kaye, Chartered Architects; not to scale; January 1977
Letter from Eastern Electricity regarding price rise; 'In common with other businesses we are still faced with the effects of inflation, albeit at a lower level than previously, and I am sorry that despite our efforts to contain costs it has been necessary for us, together with other Area Electricity Boards, to revise our prices for electricity'; 21 March 1978
Further letter stating that demands of up to 61kW/kVA had been recorded and that the existing Maximum Power Requirement should be increased from 60kVA to 70kVA; 20 March 1978
Letter from County Architect to Chief Education Officer; 'My Area Building Surveyor has now visited the school regarding the complaint of stains on the outside of the Hall windows in the South Elevation which window cleaners are unable to remove. The stains appear to be dirt marks and are not soluble in water but can be removed with a sharp instrument (small patch removed with knife). In my opinion this work could be carried out by a window cleaner or glazing specialist, although I am not sure whether this should be a County Council responsibility'; 27 April 1978
Property Damage Report; '6 ft length of wall from which one of the main gates of the school was supported was cracked right along its damp course'; 'Having made a delivery to the school kitchen, the van [large goods vehicle of Walter Clarke of Sundon Park] was attempting to go through the school gates and the side of the van caught the leading edge of the gate which was open. This had the effect of tending to make the gate swing upwards causing the walls holding the gates to rock slightly, thus cracking the wall along its damp course'; Headmaster witnessed the incident and driver and occupant denied causing any damage; 'On telephoning Walter Clark, the Headmaster spoke to a person who claimed to be a senior official who stated that he would examine the side of the vehicle and also come along to the school to examine the alleged damage to the wall. However, this person did not make any visit to the school'; accident occurred 18 May 1978 at approximately 11.25 am
Quotation from P M Specialist Builders (Luton) Limited; 'To supply all plant, labour and materials to take down 1 No. front pier and rebuild including rebedding coping stones to both piers - £135 plus VAT'; 24 July 1978
Letter from County Architect; 'As this pier is unsafe I propose to accept this quotation and have this work carried out as soon as possible'; 27 July 1978
Correspondence regarding replacing Solid Fuel to Gas Fired Central Heating at the Caretaker's House. With note to caretaker; 'The new gas fire will be required to be left if you vacate the property at any time'; July 1979
Letter from County Architect to Chief Education Officer regarding heating in the School Hall; 'Following the complaints made, my engineer visited the school on Friday last and carried out an inspection. It is difficult to express his findings in simple (polite) words. Expensive, but somewhat immature, modifications have obviously been carried out in the past to overcome the poor performance of the hall heating and there are one or two pointers to indicate why problems still exist. Limited first aid action will be taken during the forthcoming half term holiday, but should more radical surgery be necessary, fairly heavy expenditure by the Managers will be involved and I will write to you later'; 4 October 1979
Fire Inspection Report; undated [January 1980]
Memo from Chief Education Officer; 'Item3 - Means of Escape - reported 'The jambs surrounding the fire doors at the bottom of the main staircase had been removed'; he [Chief Fire Officer] recommended 'The door should be repaired so as to give its full fire resistance'; The Headmaster sent me a letter on 13 October 1980 to say that this had not yet been completed. Can you please arrange for this to be done as a matter of urgency'; 27 October 1980
Memo from Chief Education Officer mentions that reglazing and repairs to the external door [have been] carried out; 9 April 1981
Memo from Chief Education Officer to County Architect regarding provision of sockets for stage lighting; 'The provision of the necessary sockets for the new stage lighting being bought by the Parent Teacher Association will be in the order of £75. I would like to confirm that these sockets should be provided and the £75 charged to the 1980/81 contingency fund'; 27 March 1980
Letter from Area Building Surveyor; 'The main cold water storage tank was found to be leaking and in a bad condition. Emergency repairs were put in hand and the tank replaced by A G Peck Limited. The nature of the position of the tank and its fitting necessitated the removal of the ceiling and subsequent reinstatement from a tower scaffold. Since this tank was replaced, the other storage tank at the further end of the building has been found to be defective to a lesser degree and tenders are being invited for its replacement this year from revenue estimates'; 22 May 1980
Letter from Headmaster to Chief Education Officer; 'The matter concerns a pathway to the school which is under heavy use by the children. In an attempt to make the children keep to this path we have approached both the Parks Department and the County Engineer. Neither were able to help, so we decided to purchase some plastic covered wire fencing out of our school fund. Three rolls were obtained and these were stored in what the caretaker considered to be a safe place. Two of these rolls were stolen during the night. The total cost was £51.76, which means that the value lost is £34.51. This type of loss is not covered by County insurance, and I am in fact taking steps to cover school private goods by a private school insurance policy. In the meantime, since we have shown "willing" by our "self-help" policy, and have come unstuck to the tune of £34.51, would you consider giving us some help in the matter?'; 15 May 1980
Memo from Chief Education Officer to County Architect; 'I shall be grateful if you will let me know if there is any help that your Department can give to the school if only to assist in obtaining replacement material at a discount'; 21 May 1980
Reply; 'Although I am sorry to hear about the school's misfortune in losing their plastic covered wire fencing, I do not think I am in any position to arrange any discount scheme for its replacement for such a small quantity'; 23 May 1980
Letter to C Wood & Son (Luton) Ltd, 1 London Road, Luton, A G Peck (Contractors) Ltd, 45 Dudley Street, Luton, and A W Oakley Ltd, 2 Thornhill Road, Luton, informing them that their tenders for Renewal of Cold Water Tank had been unsuccessful; 19 June 1980
Letter to Early Brothers Limited, rear of 58 Belmont Road, Luton, informing them that their tender for the above for £945 had been accepted; 19 June 1980
Estimate for roofing repairs from J Cooney, Felt Roofing Contractor, 35 Cranbrook Drive, Luton; total £2,254 including VAT; 22 June 1981
Letter from B D Kaye; 'We have been instructed by the Governors to carry out roof repairs to the two classroom extension of the middle school ...As this falls within the £2,500 limit and has now become urgent, instructions have been given to Mr Cooney to proceed with the work as soon as possible. There is no Local Education Authority liability in this connection'; 24 August 1981
Letter from Headmaster; 'The two temporary classrooms on our site have now been removed. This is in accordance with arrangements made last term. The County Hall Officer with whom I spoke made two agreements with me. One was that a Caretaker's Hut be provided [Note at bottom; this has been provided] and the other was that the area left by the classrooms should be re-seeded or re-turfed. Bearing in mind the time of the year, could I ask that the second arrangement be carried out as a matter of priority? I am sure you will agree with me that we wish to avoid a winter quagmire as the area is adjacent to the childrens' playground'; 25 September 1981
Reply from County Architect; 'I would confirm the post script to the letter, that the Caretaker's Hut has already been erected and inform you that an order has been placed with Luton Borough Council, Parks Department, for the reinstatement of the grassed area where the hutted classroom has been removed'; 15 October 1981
Insulation Reports (2) and Certificates of Analysis (3) from Thomson Laboratories, The Stocks, Cosgrove, Milton Keynes; [covers Junior and Infant Schools]
lagging in the boilerhouse (Junior School) contains Amosite (brown asbestos) and Chrysotile (white asbestos); with recommended course of action:
Reseal pipework insulation where damaged
Remove all loose asbestos and thoroughly clean the room with a vacuum cleaner incorporating an absolute filter
[The above work should be carried out in accordance with Specification B]
Paint the ceiling
Access to the boilerhouse should be restricted as much as possible. No clearing up should be done unless the operative is wearing approved respiratory protection; inspection 24 September 1982
Letter from B D Kaye regarding final account for Replacement of Windows and External Repairs and Redecorations; 'The final account has now been prepared and claim forms will be submitted to you by our clients in due course ...You will note that the total cost stands at £7,151.45 thus exceeding the total approvals figure of £5,596 by £555.45. Final LEA liability stands at £315 and the balance overspent of £240.45 is due to additional work carried out during the closing stages of the project. We enclose a list of the items [not here] totalling £765.45, part of this sum having been met from contingency sums. In making the final submission to the DES will you kindly inform them of the misunderstanding whereby the contractor had included the redecoration of the whole of the premises instead of redecorating only those areas where windows were being replaced. This was most fortunate especially as competetive tenders had been received just for the repair and reinstatement work and they were still the lowest.'; 30 November 1981
Memo from Chief Education Officer to County Architect regarding payment for repair work; 'The Church Authorities are pressing for the payment of maintenance grant in connection with the expenditure which has been incurred and until such time as I have received confirmation from you that this work has been carried out satisfactorily, it is not possible for the documentation to be forwarded to the Department of Education and Science. I should be grateful if you would confirm, as a matter of urgency, that you are satisfifed with the standard of the work which has been undertaken, when I will then be in a position to forward the documentation to the DES,. Will you also confirm that the Authority's liability for work amounts to £407.54'; 27 September 1982
Further memo; 'You will note from the forms that the sum of £407.54 is the responsibility of the Authority in respect of work undertaken to the kitchens and gates at the school. I should be glad, therefore, if you would arrange for the County Treasurer to forward a cheque for £407.54 to the Northampton Roman Catholic Diocese Trustee at the following address: The Diocesan Treasurer, Bishops House, Marriott Street, Northampton; 29 October 1982
Memo from Chief Education Officer to County Architect regarding heating; 'To date, I do not appear to have received a reply to my enquiries concerning the heating of the school, and the Headmaster has made further enquiries to ascertain what recommendations have been made to try and rectify the situation, as the heating in both the hall and the classrooms failed on 11 December 1982. In order that I may keep the Headmaster informed concerning the heating of the school, I should be gald to receive your comments on this matter and to learn whether any remedial work can be undertaken to alleviate the situation'; 5 January 1983
Further memo; 'I have received a further letter from the Headmaster of the School to state that recently the temperature in the hall has been in the region of 48 to 50 degrees. On the 11th February 1983, the Headmaster telephoned my office concerning the temperatures, and during the course of the conversation, it transpired that the boiler is not adequate to cope with the heating of the school, bearing in mind the new two classroom extension built recently. Do you agree that as an improvement to the heating system appears to be necessary, as this is a Voluntary Aided School, that responsibility for this rests with the Governors?. The Headmaster also indicated that finance was to be made available in the 1983/84 estimates for work to be carried out to the boiler, I should be grateful if you would confirm that this is so'; 16 February 1983
Letter from County Architect; 'It was discovered that the three fan convectors existing are all working as well as can be expected, but their combined output are not sufficient to keep the hall at a reasonable temperature during normal winter conditions. The upgrading of these heaters is a matter for the School Governors, but for guidance, a sum of money in the region of £1,200 should be considered. If the Governors wish to proceed with this improvement, perhaps you would let me know and I will obtain competitive quotations on their behalf. To have the full benefit, the work should be carried out during the school summer holiday of 1983. Ideally financial approval should be given by the beginning of June 1983 so that materials can be ordered'; 3 March 1983
Letter from Chief Education Officer; 'I have now received confirmation from the School Governors that they wish to proceed with the upgrading of the heaters and they have asked if competitive tenders could be obtained on their behalf. I understand that the school is to be changed to gas during the summer holidays and I should be grateful therefore, if you would kindly arrange for these works to be carried out simultaneously, after financial approval is obtained from the Department of Education and Science'; 8 April 1983
Letter from Headmaster to Chief Education Officer; 'During the last few years the main gate of the school has been repeatedly knocked down by large vehicles. This is really unavoidable, because the entrance itself is too narrow, and this difficulty is exacerbated by a severe turn in the drive immediately beyond the gate. I have personally witnessed many large vehicles experiencing the utmost difficulty in overcoming the obstacle. Once again the gate and adjacent wall has been knocked down by a tanker delivering oil to the school. This time, the driver admitted liability, so there is no difficulty in this respect. If, however, the gate and wall are now to be repaired again, could we not consider widening of the entrance and an alteration to the driveway so that in future large vehicles could enter and leave without difficulty of danger (and further expense)?; 2 December 1982
Reply from County Architect; 'I would inform you that an estimate for works to improve the access to the school has been requested and will be to hand shortly'; 24 January 1983
Revised quotation from Kitsons Insulation Contractors Limited, 1 Curzon Road, Luton, to Strip out White and Brown asbestos from the Boiler House in accordance with the Asbestos Regulations 1969 and the Deposit of Poisonous Waste Act 1972, all work to be carried out in normal working hours, for £948; 25 March 1983
Certificates of Analysis (3) from Thomson Laboratories; First visit 'Contractors had not finished the work, They had stripped and removed insulation, but were still painting the plant'; concerns over 'operative had a respirator but was not wearing it; sheeting at the entrance to the boilerhouse was not airtight; the waste in the skip was effectively bagged and sealed, but the skip was uncovered' no samples taken.
Second visit 'Insulation had been stripped and removed but there were obvious traces; 'amongst brushes and boiler cleaning tools; around the pumps; behind the boilers (and inside air bricks); on top of the boilers (dried slurry) and sides (dried splashes); behind the cylinder; on the floor in several places; no air samples were taken, the area should be recleaned before air tests are taken'
Third visit; Air Samples from Junior School Boiler House contained negligible asbestos fibres but notes 'Boiler flue and boiler were leaking fumes'; 7, 8, 11 April 1983
Letter to Beateye Ltd, Building 8E40, Elstow Storage Depot, Kempston Hardwick; Relyon Heating Engineers, 36a Leagrave Road, Luton; and S Stuart & Company Ltd, 2a Conway Road, Luton; informing them that their tenders for Replacement of Boilers had been unsuccessful; 1 June 1983
Letter to Boiler Efficiency, 51 High Street South, Dunstable, informing them that their tender for the above for £2,450 had been accepted; 1 June 1983
Form of Tender from Quality Water Systems Ltd, to Bleed, Dose with Qualtreat 780 and a polymeric dispersant to disperse sludge and then revisit to balance levels of treatment, for £300 (exclusive of VAT); 21 July 1983
Letter to Harry Shaw Insulations Ltd, 27 Woodbridge Close, Luton, and Barnet Insulation Company Ltd, rear of 61 Hadley Highstone, Barnet, informing them that their tenders for Insulation in the Boiler House at Downside Lower, Lady Zia Wernher, St Margaret Junior and Infant Schools and Luton Fire Station, had been unsuccessful; 8 September 1983
Letter to J & T Bowness Ltd, 2 Norman Road, Luton, informing them that their tender for the above for £4,305 had been accepted; 8 September 1983
Letter from Department of Education and Science; 'I am directed by the Secretary of State to say that he approves, as far as his requirements are concerned, the particulars submitted, at a gross cost of £3,110 based on tender for building work and professional fees and expenses ...This approval is given subject to the expenditure incurred by the governors being contained within the expenditure limits set by the Department for capital projects at voluntary aided and special agreement schools in the Authority's area. It is noted that the Authority is to make no contribution towards this project. The governors are reminded that grant is payable only on expenditure which has been approved by the Secretary of State, whose prior approval must be obtained for any significant alteration of plans, whatever their effect on costs, or any variations which are likely to lead to the final cost exceeding the approved contract sum. In such cases, an explanatory statement, plans and details of revised costs should be sent to the Department through the local education authority. The Department should also be informed immediately if there is likely to be a significant change in the allocation of expenditure between the governors and the local education authority. The particulars approved above provide for new fan heaters at the above named school'; 5 August 1983
Letter from Quality Water Systems Ltd, Shield House, Gatehouse Close, Aylesbury, regarding state of school radiators; 'Junior School - All radiators working, and treatment round. The kitchen radiator is badly corroded and leaking (before treatment). This radiator was left open for one hour, then closed (our instructions to the kitchen staff); Infant School - All radiators OK apart from two in the office. These were gassing and badly corroded. On venting I noticed a smell of Hydrogen Sulphide, indicating the presence of bacteria in the system, though this may be confined to these radiators. These may be killed by our treatment, but failing this, niocide could be added'; 27 October 1983
Two Certificates of Analysis from Thomson Laboratories; no asbestos fibres detected on pipework by corridor or pipework by serving hatch; one fibre detected mid point on right hand side of wall (kitchen area); samples collected 20 December 1983