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Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council has reached financial close on the first of three phases of its Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme.
The investment in this phase is £360 million, bringing the total committed to transforming education through BSF to over £4 billion.
Barnsley's BSF scheme is the first in the country to receive finance from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to support part of its Private Finance Initiative (PFI) component. The deal includes £128 million in PFI credits, the largest deal so far this year.
The EIB will fund 50% of a small number of projects, helping local authorities such as Barnsley to reach financial close on selected BSF schemes which include PFI, typically used to finance new build schools.
Tim Byles, Chief Executive of Partnerships for Schools, the government agency responsible for delivering the BSF programme, said: "I am delighted that the Barnsley BSF project has reached Financial Close. Barnsley is the 37th BSF deal to reach financial close to date and the 11th in this year alone, demonstrating that BSF continues to deliver in these challenging times.
"Around 20 financial institutions are in the market to lend to BSF schemes, including the European Investment Bank, helping ensure that deals can continue to close. This is the first BSF deal to use EIB funding and we expect further projects to benefit from this in the months to come.
"Financial close is such a key milestone in BSF, both in terms of marking the point at which local education partnerships are formed,but more importantly it is the point at which construction can begin and the prospect of a new school becomes a reality. Nearly 90 schools are now benefitting from BSF investment across the country and the national programme to rebuild and renew secondary schools continues to gain momentum. BSF is not just about bricks and mortar; new and refurbished schools are already making a positive difference to the lives of young people and to their communities and I look forward to seeing the difference that it makes to young people, teachers, parents and communities in Barnsley as it progresses."
(CD/JM)
