Radcliffe Star Academy, Star Academies, p planning docs

Morgan Sindall Construction is expected to move on site in March. Credit: via planning documents

Green light for long-awaited Radcliffe school

Morgan Sindall Construction can now move on site in March to build the 64,700 sq ft academy off Spring Lane, almost 10 years after the closure of the town’s only secondary school.

Bury Council followed officer recommendations in its approval of the proposals at a planning meeting yesterday for the Radcliffe facility, which will be operated by Star Academies to accommodate 750 pupils aged 11-16.

Designed by AHR Architects, the three-storey academy will be built on the 15-acre site currently occupied by the town’s current leisure centre and the Spring Lane School pupil referral unit.

The leisure centre will be relocated to the future £40m civic hub in Radcliffe town centre, while Spring Lane School’s facilities will move to Spurr House in Unsworth.

Radcliffe Star Academies will feature 24,600 sq ft of teaching space, as well as a 5,400 sq ft sports hall, a 2,200 sq ft assembly room, and a 1,900 sq ft dining area.

Outside, there will be both a 2G and a 3G all-weather sports pitch, and a multi-use games area.

Staff and visitors will be provided with 97 car parking spaces, including six accessible bays, along with more than 90 cycle spaces.

Plans to demolish the existing buildings on site and the construction of a 12,700 sq ft temporary school on site were approved last month, following a consultation on the proposals in August.

Star Academies expects to welcome an initial cohort of 150 year seven students next September to be taught in the temporary facilities, before the opening of the permanent school in summer 2025.

Tetra Tech is advising on the proposals for the academy. The project team also includes Ares Landscape Architects, Brownfield Solutions, Mott MacDonald, Renaissance, and Sol Acoustics.

Want to learn more about the development? Search for application number 70071 on Bury Council’s planning portal.

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