Cheadle Hulme SEN school wins approval
Councillors unanimously granted planning consent to the Department for Education to build a special needs school on a four-acre site previously occupied by a primary school and nursery.
Under the plans, existing buildings at the site on Worcester Road in Cheadle Hulme would be demolished and a part single-storey-, part two-storey SEN secondary school constructed with associated landscaping, play space and parking.
The building would span around 35,000 sq ft, according to planning documents. A modular construction, it would have a flat roof and a C-shaped footprint sitting centrally within the site.
The north and western parts of the site would be used for parking and circulation, with the remainder supporting outside pupil spaces including forest schools, habitat areas, an outdoor classroom, and landscaped areas.
The school – to be called Pear Tree Academy – would have the capacity for 133 children and be operated by the Prospere Learning Trust as a specialist support school for children with severe or profound learning difficulties and associated additional needs.
The site was previously occupied by Orrishmere Primary School, which closed in 2015, and Elm Cottage Day Nursery, which closed in 2019. It has lain vacant since.
Stockport councillors on Thursday night agreed there is a “significant need” for a school of this kind in Cheadle Hulme. They pointed to the council’s predicted shortfall of 120 secondary school places for children with special educational needs and disabilities over the next five years and agreed to approve the planning application subject to legal agreements over traffic and biodiversity issues.
“The site offers minimal public value in its current form, due to its limited access and condition [and] will be subject to a quantifiable loss in open space due to the increase in built form,” the council said in pre-meeting documents…
“However, the proposed provision of up to 133 SEN secondary school places would be a significant benefit and weighs significantly in favour of the proposal.”
The scheme’s main contractor Spatial Initiative has already been appointed. Ellis Williams is the architect and NTA Planning was the planning consultant.
The project team also includes Mott MacDonald as technical advisor; Space Invader as CDM advisor and MEP consultant; Caulmert as structural and civil designer; Pegasus Group as landscape architect; EVR Consulting as ICT consultant; Apteriors as FF&E manager; Jensen Hughes as fire consultant, and Cundall as acoustic consultant.
Drawing showing boundaries of the former Orisshmere School site. Credit: via planning documents
