More than one sixth of Cheshire West and Chester Council’s total spending on maintaining school buildings in the borough in the 2013/2014 financial year was spent on just one school.
And the lucky recipient was Kingsley Community Primary School, with £543,000 spent on keeping it ship-shape.
Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act reveal that the total spend on building-related maintenance for the 2013/2014 period was £3.006m.
The second most expensive school to maintain was Dorin Park School in Upton, which cost the council £171,000, while bringing up the rear in the top five were Hebden Green School in Winsford (£168,000), Archers Brook School in Great Sutton (£146,000) and Oldfield Primary School in Vicars Cross (£142,000).
Cost breakdown
A spokeswoman for Cheshire West and Chester Council explained why more than half a million pounds was required for Kingsley Community Primary.
She said: “That figure was the demolition and removal of two mobile units which had come to the end of their lives.
“Also demolished was a kitchen and dining facility, and low-grade building and toilets.
“On the site was a design centre for educational training which had been vacated, so in that building was put a fully-equipped school kitchen, dining hall, two full-sized classrooms, a nursery, nursery kitchenette, a room that can be used by the community or after-school and toilets.
“Additional improvements included new windows to a corridor at the former design centre, new vehicular entrance from the road, improved separation from pedestrians, new bin store and kitchen delivery ramp, additional car parking spaces, 250m squared of soft landscaping and 250m squared of new hard surfacing and enhanced site security.”
