Holy Trinity Primary School Installs Movement Management Prestige Platform Lift

Holy Trinity CE Primary School in Darwen, Blackburn can now accommodate children with mobility problems thanks to a new Prestige platform lift recently installed by leading UK supplier, Movement Management.

Holy Trinity currently has four hundred and twenty pupils aged from five to eleven years. The new lift is situated in a new two storey building which replaced mobile classrooms. The new block, which has been operational since January this year, provides eight class rooms for the older juniors, four on the ground floor and four on the first. The platform lift is located in the buildings stairwell and provides alternative access to the first floor.

Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council who specified the Movement Management Prestige lift wanted a self-contained unit that could travel to another storey without having to do a lot of building work. The Prestige proved to be ideal as it is a totally free standing structure that doesn't require a pit, thereby keeping any structural work to a minimum.

Also, as the Council had used Movement Management for previous jobs, and had been satisfied with the their performance, it made sense to go back to the same company for this particular project.

The Prestige is one of Movement Managements most popular products. A key reason for this is the fact that its shaft can be designed to meet each customers individual specification.

At Holy Trinity, the most appropriate location for the lift was next to one of the buildings main windows. Glass panelling for the lift shaft was therefore specified to allow natural light from the window behind to come through. Also as the window includes stained glass, the glass panelling on the lift enables this particular feature to be seen and provides a more aesthetically pleasing appearance in general.

Designed to travel up to a maximum of three storeys, the Prestige, which comfortably accommodates a wheelchair passenger and attendant is simply operated using a 240 volt power supply. Like all other lifts in Movement Managements Companion range, the Prestige is built with the highest quality components and meets all European safety standards, the Machinery Directive and Part M of the UK Building Regulations.

A spokesman from the council says they have been very satisfied with both the products and services provided by Movement Management. So pleased in fact that they have subsequently ordered another platform lift for a different school in the area.

Since the lift was installed feedback from the school has also been very positive. Mike Leighton, Deputy Head teacher at Holy Trinity says: "We have been very pleased with the performance of the lift to date. Inclusion is a very important issue for the school. The installation of the lift means we can now welcome children with restricted mobility who might not otherwise have been able to attend, something we are very much looking forward to."