‘MASTERPLAN’ TO MOVE SCHOOL AND TRAVELLERS
ATROUBLED children’s school and Travellers site could be moved as part of a “masterplan” to regenerate Astmoor Industrial Estate in Runcorn.
The Bridge School pupil referral unit on Chadwick Road has been earmarked for relocation because of being situated next to two lorry parks with a lack of proper outdoor space, and the Travellers site on Marsh Lane because it “creates a negative first impression” to investors, a Halton Borough Council report said – classing the use of land in both cases as “inappropriate”.
An alternative school site has been identified on Old Quay Street near the crossing for Wigg Island, and Halton Council is eyeing a plot near Haddocks Wood for the displaced Travellers.
The plans were revealed in an update on the local authority’s Astmoor masterplan, which it hopes will create 2,000 jobs and add £0.5m a year in business rates.
Approval is now being sought from spending chiefs on the council’s executive board today, Thursday, September 17, to add £1.5m to the masterplan budget.
Backing is also sought to extend a discretionary business rates scheme for Astmoor by a year to 2025 after delays deprived businesses of the chance to draw up proposals.
Liverpool City Region funding to the tune of £1.2m has already been secured for the refurbishment of the estate’s busway and cycleways, the report said.
Vacant sites are also being redeveloped with a view to being marketed to businesses to buy or rent.
The report said the council hopes to turn Astmoor into an “exemplar” industrial estate, with further proposed works to include green projects.
These include surfacing and tyres schemes, as well as proposals to work with the University of Chester and Thornton Science Park in order to
“assess the feasibility of the estate adopting green energy in the widest sense including low emission vehicles, local energy networks, micro generation, and the introduction of hydrogen into the gas grid”.
In addition to increased business rates, the council hopes the scheme will create an additional one million sq ft of commercial floor space, 2,000 jobs over five years, momentum to attract future investment, and £2m in capital land sales or rent.
It is also looking to capitalise on the opening of the £1.86bn Mersey Gateway bridge and said 24 businesses opened in Astmoor in the two years since the crossing opened from October 2017-19, compared to just 11 in the two years before.
On The Bridge School’s current poor location, the report said: “The council-owned school building in its current location requires substantial council resources to maintain and repair and shares the site with two lorry parks which impact on the school’s ability as a pupil referral unit to provide the necessary outdoor space and quiet zones required to support the students, many of whom have complex social anxiety issues.”
With regard to the Travellers site on Marsh Lane, it said: “The Traveller site located off Marsh Lane to the south east of the estate is also considered an inappropriate use on a modern industrial estate.
“The site currently presents a negative first impression of the area to new investors, and creates a barrier for property owners who struggle to let adjacent units.
“Although currently a legal Traveller settlement, the council would seek to negotiate a more appropriate location for the residents.”