By Kelly Eve

Last updated 11:58, Friday, 22 August 2008

MOTORISTS in Carlisle are being warned they could face up to three years of disruption as £110 million is spent in the city centre on education and an upgrade of underground sewage systems.

The Victoria Place area of the city will become a hive activity as the bulk of the cash – almost £80 million – is spent developing Carlisle’s ‘learning village’.

Three neighbouring school sites – Trinity, Newman and St Aidan’s – together with Carlisle College are all due to be transformed, many by 2011.

Plans for a £20 million refurbishment of Trinity School – its biggest changes since its formation as a comprehensive 40 years ago – could begin next spring and be ready by September 2011.

Carlisle College is also hoping to start on a £30 million rebuild.

And more than £25 million is to be spent turning the former St Aidan’s School site into a state-of-the-art base for the Richard Rose Central Academy.

At Newman School, work has already started on a new £2.5 million sports centre.

Full planning applications have yet to be submitted and approved yet a massive effort to co-ordinate the work in carefully controlled stages has been going on for months. It is predicted most disruption for motorists will be caused by the £30 million wastewater scheme from United Utilities, due to last up to 18 months.

County highways teams have already brought forward road-widening works at Victoria Place, currently going on, after being informed that the wastewater works will not start until October. Flood defence works in the east of the city are also continuing but are due to be finished by the time the wastewater works begin.

Richard Hayward, Cumbria County Council’s Carlisle area highways engineer, said the United Utilities programme may see Lismore Place and Lismore Road closed for up to two months.

Residents are invited to find out more about the programme at a public event on September 3. Caroline Brumwell, from United Utilities, will be on hand to discuss the plans at drop-in sessions in Lowther Street Church on September 3 from 4.30pm.

Mr Hayward said: “The immediate challenge will be the waste-water scheme that is going to take up to 18 months.

“In the St Aidan’s ward it will be chaos for a bit while this happens but, in regard to the learning village, information so far is that it is not coming up with any major problems.”