Hillcrest won consent for the site's redevelopment last February. Credit: via planning documents

PJ Livesey acquires Kings School in Macc, plots changes 

Nikal has offloaded the six-acre Cumberland Road site, which has planning permission for 121 homes. 

Having taken control of the site, PJ Livesey plans to scale back the redevelopment proposals, reducing the total number of homes and retaining the Memorial Cricket Pavilion, which will be converted into a house. 

Under Nikal’s plans for the site, put forward by its now-mothballed housing division Hillcrest Homes, the pavilion would have been relocated. 

Like Hillcrest, PJ Livesey plans to retain and convert the grade two-listed original school building, headmaster’s house, and Gate Lodge. 

The extant permission also includes a row of 10 properties on nearby Pownall Street, which will be delivered by Cheshire-based developers Hall & Co. 

PJ Livesey plans to start work on phase one of the agreed planning later this year. This phase includes 20 new build houses and the conversion of the cricket pavilion and Gate Lodge. 

A revised application for the rest of the site will then follow in the summer, according to the developer.

“The Kings School has a special place in the affections of the people of Macclesfield and its distinctive buildings are part of the town’s history,” said PJ Livesey board development director James Woodmansee. 

“We believe our plans respect this heritage and create a more sympathetic solution to giving the buildings new purpose while retaining the same amount of green space.” 

“We have liaised closely with neighbours and listened to their concerns around car parking and open green space and will continue discussions with the local council and heritage groups as we progress.” 

Hillcrest was granted planning permission for 121 properties on the former Kings School site in Macclesfield in February 2022, after the scheme was twice deferred by Cheshire East’s planning committee. 

The approval came a year after Hillcrest had completed the acquisition of the site from the school, which has relocated to a new-build facility in Prestbury.  

Nikal chairman Richard Fee said: “We are pleased to complete the sale of Kings School Macclesfield site to PJ Livesey and look forward to the vision coming to fruition.  

“The development will bring much-needed housing stock to the town with deserved respect to the heritage of the site.” 

Speaking on behalf of neighbours, Dr Ruth Thompson said: “We are pleased that PJ Livesey has purchased this site because the company has shown consideration for local feeling. 

“It has promised to conform with council standards for parking and a less dense development, which should promote harmony rather than potential conflict with the new residents.” 

Elsewhere on the King’s School estate, housebuilders Barratt and David Wilson Homes, with housing association Torus, are to build 300 homes on nearby Fence Avenue, while care home developer McCarthy & Stone and housebuilder Bellway are also advancing projects. 

Your Comments

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P.J. Livesey build beautiful homes

By Joan Brocklehurst

Excellent idea to retain as much as poss

By Jo

“There’s some nice green space, with local historical links, I know – let’s build some more tacky homes” (!)

By Usual cloned boxes imo

Think I would prefer it as a school than building yet more homes in an increasingly congested area. Property boom and bust on the way.

By Anonymous

Where is the money for the hospital to manage the influx of residents in the area. The hospital is struggling as it is. The hospital needs a lot of investment given to it.

By Anon

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