Lancaster unlocks land for Mainway affordable housing

Works to prepare the site of the former Skerton High School for development can now progress following the Secretary of State for Education’s approval.

Lancaster City Council has purchased the land off Owen Road with plans to deliver 130 affordable homes, featuring a mix of apartments and houses.

Preliminary proposals also include indoor community space, the creation of a children’s play park, and routes into and through the estate forming links between Ryelands Park and the riverside.

Skerton High closed in 2014 and has remained vacant since. Chadwick High School, an alternative provision facility, would remain on the site.

Cllr Caroline Jackson, deputy leader and cabinet member with responsibility for housing, said: “We have entered a new chapter in the history of this important site and a fantastic opportunity to breathe new life into the area.

“We can now get on with developing our plans to build much-needed social and affordable housing that is energy efficient and supports the needs and requirements of a broad range of households and age groups.”

Lancaster City Council’s proposals for the former school site form part of the local authority’s wider plans to improve its Mainway estate, which sits off Mainway and by the River Lune.

Built in the 1960s, most of the existing 257 homes on the estate will not be habitable in three to five years’ time due to maintenance issues, according to a Lancaster City Council cabinet report from last February.

Place Capital is working with the city council to craft a detailed masterplan for the wider site, working alongside architect Grounded and AG Building + Consultancy.

Last month, Lancaster City Council announced its plans to sell Lune House and Derby House, a pair of apartment blocks on the Mainway estate. The buildings were originally planned to be refurbished and retained, however rising costs led the authority to change its mind.