School revamp with swim pool approved
AN ‘OUT-DATED’ secondary school is to be replaced with a brand-new development including a swimming pool and multiple games area to be made available for community use.
Councillors on West Lancashire Borough Council’s Planning Committee have approved plans for a new Tarleton Academy on land at the site of the existing school.
The old school is one of a number across the UK which are seen as outdated and needing replacement. The new site will include a fourstorey building which is higher than any existing building there. This has prompted some fears about a loss of privacy to nearby homes.
The school is operated by Endeavour Learning Trust and funding for the new school project has come from the national Department for Education’s £1 billion School Rebuilding Programme.
Construction firm Willmott Dixon has been appointed to the work by the Department for Education and submitted the application to the borough’s planning committee.
Speaking at the commitee’s latest meeting, Tarleton resident Tim Clarke of Hague Avenue raised some objections.
He said: “Our house is probably closest to the new school and we are probably the only objectors. I’ve spoken to neighbours about this but, to be honest, I think they are too old to care.
“Potentially they could have an opinion but they are not here to express that.
“We have two objections. The first is about the classroom windows on the north side of the proposed three-storey building directly facing our property. The new building will have hundreds of users and will affect our privacy generally. Most of the other school windows will face east or west, which is better.”
He also queried some measurements of distances between his house and the school in the planning documents.
He added: “Our second objection is about the location for the bins store 13 metres from our house. The site is massive. Surely the bins store can be somewhere else?”
In reply, planning officers said distances were all within planning guidelines and allowances had been made for the extra storey. Only one building would be four-storey, it was pointed out.
Overall, the new school buildings were of similar massing to the existing school but would be slightly re-positioned on the land.
The bin store was located near an access road which was needed for bin collections.
Planning committee chairman Cllr David O’Toole welcomed the new school, saying: “It’s a large school on a large site.
As councillors, we hear residents asking about education and school places. This school serves a large area and has been there for a long time, possibly longer than some residents. But there are quite a lot of conditions attached to the scheme.”
Councillors voted to approve the new school plans.
Consultation on the blueprint was held earlier this year with residents, businesses and district and county councils. A survey suggested the majority of residents supported the plans and over 70 per cent agreed with the design layout.
The new school is expected to open in September 2023 and pupils will be taught in the existing buildings until then.