Barnet Council has appointed a new contractor to handle £150 million’s worth of major projects including new schools, leisure and community centres.

The population in Barnet is higher than any other London borough so the council must make moves to meet the growing demand for services.

The new ‘capital projects’ programme with Graham Construction sees the council investing heavily in new builds while trying to reduce overall spending.

Builds already confirmed include the building of two new leisure centres at Copthall and New Barnet, the Tarling Road Community Centre in East Finchley as well as school expansion projects.

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Graham will work to improve existing buildings and develop new projects over the next five years, with the option to extend for another two years subject to budget and performance.

Graham Construction’s director for the partnership Rod McMullan said: “Our partnership with Barnet focuses on quality, value, and cost certainty.

“We are confident the knowledge and experience gained from our extensive ongoing education portfolio and Inner-London projects will ensure the council’s Capital Projects pipeline is delivered on time and within budget.”

The council’s financial strategy will see £565 million of capital investment between 2016 and 2020, funded by developer contributions, capital receipts, borrowing, revenue and external grants.

Leader of the council, Cllr Richard Cornelius said: “As our borough expands so does the need for us to provide more housing, school places, leisure centres and community facilities for our residents, which is why we are investing £565 million in the future of the borough.

“Barnet has a good track record of building major projects on time and on budget and this new partnership with Graham provides us further opportunity to deliver these important new buildings which will serve our residents for many years to come.”

Where would you want to see this money spent? Get in touch at rhys.handley@newsquest.co.uk or 07795305271 to let us know.