A MULTI-MILLION pound building work project at the town’s first free school has stalled after the lead contractor went into administration.

Education chiefs at King’s Leadership Academy have faced yet more setbacks after the building company appointed to construct the school entered into voluntary administration.

Work at the academy was forced to come to a halt last week after it was revealed that GB Solutions Ltd was struggling with ‘cash flow problems’.

This will have come as a major blow to senior leaders at King’s, who have faced a string of hurdles while fighting to get its new school hub built.

Principal Shane Ierston said: “This school has had quite a few obstacles to overcome but we have always managed to jump over these hurdles.

“This is just another setback that we will overcome.”

The building work was expected to be completed by late July to early August at the new school site on Hillock Lane.

But Mr Ierston has confirmed there will be a delay to the completion but he is hopeful the school will be ready for the September start date.

Chief executive of Kings Leadership Academy Sir Iain Hall has already been in discussions with the Education Funding Agency (EFA), who are financing the building work, about what steps can be taken.

He said: “We have paid for everything that has been done so everything on the site belongs to us.

“There is enough money left to finish the building work.”

It is understood the EFA has a pool of contractors who can be used to complete the work but, for now, the academy has no choice but to put the work on hold.

A spokesman for EfA has confirmed they are in talks with the academy to find the best solution but declined to comment any further.

This is not the first problem senior leaders at the school have encountered after the plans to build the new academy were subjected to a lengthy planning inquiry.

The fight to get planning permission was not an easy one but at the start of 2014 it was announced that Secretary of State, Eric Pickles, disagreed with the council’s stance to block the plans and staff at King’s were give the all clear to start the building work on the state-of-the art school.