Cheshire East ditches Flag Lane school plan

Alternative options for the redevelopment of the former Crewe swimming pool will be considered, the council said, confirming that it will instead fund improvements for high needs pupils within its mainstream schools.

Cllr Laura Crane, chair of the children and families committee at Cheshire East Council, confirmed that the local authority will accept a £3.5m high needs capital grant from the Department for Education, to cover the next three years.

The council has been looking for solutions as to how to best meet its duties in educational provision. In January, CEC confirmed that it would redevelop its former Westfields headquarters into a 140-place all-through SEND school, a £16m project.

This additional call on funding for Westfields will also mean a pause for the expansion of provision at Springfield school in Middlewich, CEC confirmed at that time.

The redevelopment of the 1930s-built Flag Lane baths site, which closed around a decade ago after being replaced by a more modern leisure centre, was pushed up the agenda in 2024, when the YES Trust was told it had been successful in bidding to build a 70-place school at Flag Lane.

Cash was earmarked for demolition, and in November that year CEC named education as its preferred route at Flag Lane, However, according to a report for February’s meeting of CEC’s children and families committee yesterday, the DfE has not been responsive since – a point also made in the Westfields report ahead of January’s meeting.

Although the DfE has now contacted CEC, saying that it given all councils until the end of this month to set out its priorities, allowing the national body to proceed with allocations, CEC feels this does not give enough certainty – there is simply too much risk with pursuing Flag Lane, risk which would fall on the council’s shoulders.

The officer report said: “The response received from the DfE does not provide any comfort to the council as to when they are proposing to take forward the proposal and there is a high chance that continuing with Flag Lane will take a number of years.

“The property costs associated with holding the site are a revenue expense for the council. The DfE has not yet undertaken a detailed feasibility of the site and the abnormal site development costs are an unknown and there is a risk these costs could be high which will fall to the council to fund.

“On balance, the refreshed approach to sufficiency will deliver placements in a more efficient and timely way without the risk of incurring these unknown costs for a scheme that we do not have a timeline of the delivery.”

Thus, the council will look to boost high needs provision in mainstream schools, and look to find a new way forward for the development of the Flag Lane site.

The site sits just off Wistaston Road, close to the town centre. There is a campaign group working to reopen the baths as a swimming pool.

Cllr Crane said in a statement: “Our priority is to ensure that every child in Cheshire East has the best possible start in life. A key part of this is strengthening an inclusive mainstream education system, so that children can access the right support, at the right time, within their local community.

“Following the government’s update on free schools, we agreed to progress with Westfields. At today’s committee meeting, we also agreed that the proposed school at Flag Lane Baths will no longer proceed.

“We will be accepting £3.465m in high needs capital grant funding from the Department for Education over the next three years, which will be invested in improving physical environments in our mainstream schools. Other areas of development such as early intervention and workforce development will continue to be funded through the High Needs Block.

“By focusing on inclusion within mainstream settings, more children will be able to have their needs met locally. Our investment in both physical environments and in early support strategies will help us respond to rising demand and meet needs earlier, often without the requirement for a formal assessment. Alternative options for the future use of the former Flag Lane Baths site will now be explored.”