Hillcrest and Project3 reveal designs for King’s Macclesfield site
The developer and architect have submitted an application for 115 homes on the school’s Cumberland Street campus, ahead of King’s relocating to its new home near Prestbury next year.
The Cumberland Street campus is on the approach into the centre from Macclesfield District General Hospital and comprises the grade two-listed main school building, erected in the 19th century, and another school building dating from the 20th century.
Under Hillcrest’s application, the grade two-listed library and gatehouse will be retained and converted; the library will contain seven two-bed homes, while the gatehouse will be restored into a four-bed detached house.
The existing 20th-century school building is set to be converted into 29 one and two-bed apartments with a contemporary extension to the rear, while there are also plans for 42 one and two-beds targeted at ‘later living’, which the developer said included those wishing to downsize.
An additional 12 two and three-bed terraced houses are to be built on Pownall Street on the site of the school’s Percyvale Science Block and a prefabricated maintenance building, which are to be demolished. Avison Young is acting as planner, with Exterior Architecture as landscape architect.
Hillcrest purchased the site from King’s Macclesfield last year, and held a consultation on its plans for the campus last month. Work will not begin until the school relocates to its new campus; this is already under way, with contractor Vinci on course to deliver the £60m, 80-acre scheme outside Prestbury in time for the 2020/21 academic year.
Hillcrest’s purchase was one of four deals agreed to fund the school’s relocation; two other sites have been bought by retirement living developer McCarthy & Stone, Homes England, and housebuilder Bellway. Together, these could deliver around 450 homes.
James Payne, managing director of Hillcrest, said: “The variety of housing options opens up the development to a wide range of individuals and families, creating a diverse new community and a genuine opportunity for people to achieve ‘homes for life’ in the heart of Macclesfield town centre. Social interaction is actively encouraged through the inclusion of appealing external spaces, such as the vast landscaped green, communal garden and a garden street.
“We believe this combination of elements immortalises the spirit of The King’s School and creates a lasting legacy of which we can all be very proud.”
There is a mix of new-build homes and converted original buildings
