Cockermouth School redevelopment set for go-ahead

Bowmer + Kirkland is lined up to deliver 137,000 sq ft of new-build education space, replacing a collection of older buildings at Castlegate Drive.

A special meeting of Cumberland Council’s planning committee will discuss the proposals on Friday 19 June, with approval recommended by officers.

The Department for Education is the client, with contractor B+K installed as partner. DPP is the planning advisor and Bond Bryan the architect.

Professionals working as part of the team include Hexa, Anderson Green, One Environments, Arup, Ramboll, Innovare, OFR and 2P.

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The existing school buildings will continue to operate while the new complex is constructed alongside. The need to consolidate teaching into the western part of the site while construction takes place will necessitate the addition of some temporary teaching blocks for two years.

Once the new building is up, the final phase of the project will be to deliver multi-use games areas and parking on the footprint of the existing buildings.

There are three main components of the new-build project: the main school building, a sports block, and the rotation of the existing all-weather pitch to the north of the new block

Bond Bryan’s design & access statement sets out the situation as it stands: “Cockermouth School is a secondary school and sixth form set on a large sloping site on the north-east side of Cockermouth.

“The school currently operates from seven buildings of various ages which present significant challenges in terms of functionality, accessibility, energy efficiency and overall suitability for the delivery of modern education.

“They are proposed to be replaced with new buildings catering for 1,440 students and 135 full-time staff. The site also features extensive sports facilities that are to be either retained or replaced.”

There will be a site visit for planning committee members ahead of the meeting. Officers summed up their report on the scheme by describing the project as “a significant scheme which will provide a modern, more cohesive education facility which is built to modern standards that will provide a significant benefit to the community in terms of enhanced education provision and community facilities within Cockermouth, with minimum disruption to the education of existing pupils”.

Documents relating to the project can be viewed on the Allerdale section of Cumberland’s planning portal with the reference FUL/2026/0037.