Ellesmere Port Academy – Walsingham Planning scores top marks in record time

Walsingham Planning acted for Cheshire West and Chester Council and obtained outline planning permission from the Council for a 1350-place new Academy school, including a 300-place sixth form, in the centre of Ellesmere Port.

Obtaining the planning permission allowed an Outline Business Case to be prepared by the Council as part of the application to the Government which secured £25million of investment to the Ellesmere Port area for this new University of Chester, Church of England sponsored Academy school.

Walsingham Planning worked closely with the Local Authority and the BSF project team to ensure that the application was prepared and submitted in record time – in fact, in less than 3 weeks from first instruction!.

In 2012 the new Academy school will replace two existing run-down schools in the area where there were falling numbers and inadequate facilities. The new Academy will provide a state-of-the-art building providing a full range of art, academic and sporting facilities to an innovative design. It is envisaged that the building will incorporate a 3-storey central spine with three wings coming off the main building housing general teaching/learning spaces.

There will also be 2 synthetic, multi-use games areas, a grass pitch, a 400 metre athletics track and 5 tennis courts, along with a four- court sports hall.

Critical to the success of the application was that new open space and recreational facilities could be provided through the demolition of the existing school buildings, thereby adding to the overall recreational facilities in the borough. Discussions with Sport England and the Council’s recreation department were required to ensure that all the authorities were satisfied with the proposed scheme.

The application site is in two parts, separated by a well used road and connected by a pedestrian footbridge. The majority of the site is used for recreation and open space purposes although part of it is allocated for housing. The site also has a number of existing users including a popular local Connexions youth centre and sports hall and the application had to address issues of relocation and alternative provision for the users of these facilities to ensure that they were well catered for both during the construction period and beyond.

Besides the open space and recreation issues, a large number of other matters had to be addressed in the application. Although it was in outline only, the planning application included a wealth of additional information to assist the Local Planning Authority in reaching its decision.

Information relating to transport, contamination, design, ecology and flooding – to name but a few of the issues – was provided. This entailed Mark and Christine liaising closely with a team of other professionals to ensure all the information required was obtained within the timescale.

Planning Applications