Withington set for secondary school approval

An application for a 101,500 sq ft secondary school next to Hough End playing fields is set to be approved at Manchester City Council’s planning committee next week.

The school has space for 1,200 pupils between the ages of 11-16, and would be stepped between one, two, and three-storeys. Almost 140 car parking spaces are also proposed along with an all-weather pitch and a four court multi-use games area near the sports hall.

CHS South, a temporary build school which is located nearby, will take the school upon its completion as its permanent location.

The 10.6-acre site, which was formerly a care home before it was demolished, is now use by the Greater Manchester police as a police dog training area, horse paddock and sports pitches. The proposed development also includes the reprovision of the horse paddock and dog training area for the police to the north of the school boundary.

The site is bounded by the Didsbury-bound Metrolink line to the south west, the GM Police compound known as The Hough End Centre to the east, Broughton Park Rugby Club, and Hough End Playing Fields.

The scheme has attracted both letters of support and objection. The six letters of support commented on the need for more school provision, its positive impact on the community, the lack of negative impact it could cause, and the facilities it would provide for the police.

The five letters of objection comment on the school’s impact on parking and manouvering at the drop off and pick up on Chelsfield Grove and Mauldeth Road West, the subsequent increase in noise and traffic pollution, and the potential for accidents. A request has been made to make the kerbs higher on Chelsfield Grove to combat parking.

An objection also came from nearby Loreto High School, which said that “the concentration of secondary schools does not appropriately meet the needs of Manchester’s local communities” and queried the “demand for secondary schools in Chorlton and Didsbury.”

Bam is the main contractor attached to the development an Pozzoni is the architect.

Your Comments

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Where are all the houses going to go for all these pupils to live in?

By UnaPlanner

Disgrace. We need a park… and cycle lanes!

By Greta's big brother

I expect they will live with their parents Una

By Huey

What a dreadful piece of ‘architecture’. Educational buildings are an opportunity to inspire the next generation… inspirational, this is not.

By Concerned Architect

More school spaces are much needed. What a huge opportunity to provide some exemplar and inspiring facilities. This development is going to stand in this location for a long time. It’s going to be visible to all and impact on the lives of many who work in it and live near it or even occasionally glimpse it. This will be an absolutely appalling blot on our landscape. Where is the integrity. Functional and low cost shouldn’t equal carbuncle. Even on the tightest of budgets some joy can always be created. This is just embarrassing.

By appalled architect

The site of the proposed school is completely in the wrong position as it located on a very busy main road, which would only agrevate an already congested route.
There are already 3 schools in the area where the local residents have to endure parents parking on the pavement and across driveways. This poses a hazard to local residents and particularly disabled members of the public who often have to walk on the public highway to continue the journey. Also the increased traffic would severely pose a hazard to the health and wellbeing of not only the local residents but also the children being taught in the schools, with increased pollution and increased road traffic.
The proposed school should be sited where the demand is required or as Beaver Road primary school did in Didsbury, they built the new school well away from the existing school so that it reached more of the community but did not increase traffic and pollution in the existing area.

By Mr L O'Rourke

Black cladding? Grey brickwork? Bleak.
The only inspiring thing is the pink van.
No thank you

By JL

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