Bradfield College ‘100 per cent’ understands Ashampstead Road closure frustrations but ‘hands were forced’

Bradfield College has said it “100 per cent” understands the disruption it is causing to the local community but its “hands were forced” when it came to carrying out boarding house repair works.

The private school is undertaking a major project to replace the roof of one of its boarding houses, with the work resulting in a road by the college being closed for most of 2025.

The announcement of the Ashampstead Road closure – which is likely to significantly impact those travelling by car in the area throughout the year – was met with anger with nearby residents, with one stating it was “incredibly selfish, egocentric and utterly irresponsible”.

In response to the criticism, Bradfield College has acknowledged the disruption but it has stated that the work must be done because the building would pose a serious risk to public safety if it wasn’t.

The college’s COO Owen Adams said that the boarding house was in need of essential repair and feared that a tile could fall from the aging building and have serious consequences if the work wasn’t completed.

Mr Adams added: “If one of those roof tiles fell on a person from that height, they’d either have a life-changing injury or die.

“If two or three of those fell on a car, who knows what would happen.

“The reality is that this building was built in 1870 on the side of a dustcart road.

“They didn’t think about how it was going to be refurbished in 2025 and scaffolding designs and things like that.

“The school is where the school is, and that’s our frustration.”

The key reason for the Ashampstead Road closure is that the boarding house is Grade II listed and that comes with a multitude of restrictions.

Because it is Grade II listed, the scaffolding used as part of the re-roofing work must not be attached to the building and must stand freely, leading to a larger structure which takes up more room on the road.

The section of Ashampstead Road that is closed is particularly narrow as well, meaning the entire carriageway must be closed for the work to take place.

There is also an issue surrounding potentially bats roosting in the roof that has added a significant amount of time to the project.

Due to planning guidelines, the roof can only be stripped at certain times to avoid the nesting season.

Also, every single roof tile must also be shown to an ecologist during the re-roofing process in case there is a bat underneath one.

Mr Adams said: “There is no way on earth that we wanted to wake up one morning and spend £5m to annoy as many people as possible.

“This has been a significant project in its research.

“A lot of thought has gone into this by professional, qualified people be them project managers, be them scaffolding designers, be them highways people, be them health and safety people.

“We are 100 per cent aware of the impact on the local community because we are the local community.

“We get it. We understand and we are not ignorant.

“I don’t know how else we can do this project, and if you said delay it then it doesn’t really solve it. It just delays it.

“We have looked at every angle we can to try and make this as straightforward as we can, but with all those restrictions and regulations, it took us to the position of where we are.

“We are not loving and enjoying this at the moment.

“We have seen the commentary [on social media] and we are hurt and upset by that commentary because that’s not really how we want to be, but we don’t know what else to do.”

When the works were first announced, the section of Ashampstead Road by the college was initially going to be fully closed between February and December, something that Bradfield College was “uncomfortable” with at the time and has since changed.

In order to keep the local community informed about any changes to the works, the college updates its website every Monday letting motorists know what’s in store for the week ahead.

There is also an email newsletter that residents can sign up to that will notify them of any significant changes to the timetable.

Mr Adams added: “Our hope is that this will be the last time we will significantly disrupt the local community.

“There’s this perception that as a school we are very focused internally and self-interested.

“We do have eyes wide open. It is a privileged education there’s no doubt about it, but as part of that privilege, understanding the community and understanding the world is an important facet.”

Mr Adams was also keen to stress the work Bradfield College does in and for the local community, including employing 635 people, offering its sports facilities to local primary schools and community groups, pupils carrying out volunteer work in West Berkshire and more.

The college also wanted to make it known that it contributes nearly £29m to the local economy annually and it saves the taxpayer £8.2m in state school places not being taken up.

Mr Adams added: “The message we want to get across is that we didn’t want to do this either.

“Our hands were forced, it is a health and safety issue that we need to address, there are a whole host of constraints and we get it, we 100 per cent get it.”