Abraham Darby Academy 'unlikely' to open on time

A £35 million academy school in Telford is now 'unlikely' to open on time after a steel canopy collapsed injuring five workers, a report has claimed.

The document says the Abraham Darby Academy School in Madeley is unlikely to open in January as planned.

It is part of a report to Telford & Wrekin Council's children and young people scrutiny committee.

Workers were seriously injured at the site on August 25 when a huge steel canopy collapsed while they were on top of it.

The report says: "It was planned that the academy and primary school would open in their new buildings in January 2012.

"At this stage it seems unlikely that the academy will be able to open then.

"The primary school building was unaffected by the collapsed canopy and the situation with regard to the leisure centre is being assessed.

"No decisions have been taken but contingency plans are being developed."

The report also says the incident will not increase the contract price and that safety checks of the design and structure are being carried out.

Kier Moss, the contractor responsible for building the new academy, was unavailable for comment.

Large machinery was used to start clearing the debris and the canopy has been taken apart, piece by piece.

Last week children returned to the current school.