Salford approves 68 homes in latest school site project

Formerly home to St Luke’s primary school, a site on Eccles New Road, Weaste is to be redeveloped as 32 houses and 36 apartments, with 75% to be offered as affordable housing.

Of the 68 homes, 44 will be part of Dérive Housing’s portfolio – a company owned by Salford City Council – while the remaining 24 properties are intended to be acquired by the Inspiring Communities Together charity.

Salford City Council said the project will deliver another boost to the number of affordable homes in the city and will be part of the city’s largest council housing scheme for 50 years with 417 new council and community-owned homes planned.

The decision follows the approval in November of 45 homes on land at the former Cromwell Secondary School for Girls, which will be acquired by The Broughton Trust.

A further school project, at Harrop Fold in Little Hulton, was deferred at the same meeting.

City mayor Paul Dennett said the council wanted to “ensure that everyone can have a roof above their head and a place to call home”

He added: “I welcome the plans for the former St Luke’s site securing approval today as this will deliver genuinely affordable properties in the heart of the city on a brownfield site that is ripe for new housing.

“The development will provide a mix of sizes that local people need and importantly, will be built to a high energy efficiency standard which will also help us in our goal for a greener Salford as we target carbon neutrality for the city by 2038.”