PLANNING permission is being sought, which will allow students from the ill-fated Warrington UTC college building on Dallam Lane to be relocated into a former accident repair centre site for up to three years.
The temporary planning consent for Change of Use from B2 to F1, involves the erection of two new school building blocks, the reconfiguration of the existing portal framed workshop and associated rooms, access and external work at the former Pentagon Ford Car Owen Street, Bewsey And Whitecross, Warrington.
THE UTC Warrington building has been unable to reopen since the start of term last year, due to safety concerns over cladding. A survey before the summer break identified issues with the external cladding caused by water ingress, raising safety concerns over the security of the panel fixings.
The building, which cost £10m and first opened in 2016, had to have unsafe cladding removed in 2018 following safety concerns in the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster. Since the closure, students have been accommodated at the Halliwell Jones Stadium.
The Department for Education has now commissioned work to prepare and submit a full planning application for the provision of temporary school accommodation for Warrington UTC. The temporary school site, which will consist of three temporary buildings and associated external works, is to be located at the former Ford Accident Repair Centre, Owen Street, and will be set within a secure fenced area. One of the temporary buildings, comprised of new modules, will be inserted within the existing workshop building which will also be subject to some refurbishment.
The temporary accommodation is required as a result of the existing UTC building on Dallam Lane requiring wholesale remedial works, during which the building will remain inaccessible. The temporary buildings will provide good quality teaching accommodation for pupils during the undertaking of remedial works to the current school building.
The three buildings are required to provide temporary accommodation for approximately 420 Key Stage 4 and Sixth Form students (ages 14-19) for a period of up to three years. Two of the temporary buildings in question will sit within an area of the existing external hard-standing concrete on the site, with the third building inserted within the existing warehouse structure. The site will be served by two points of access comprising separate vehicle and pedestrian entrances. A new pedestrian-only access gate will be introduced from Owen Street at the south east of the site. This will create a secure entrance for pupils with access to all temporary buildings on site. Vehicle, delivery and emergency access will be afforded by retaining the existing gated entrance from Dallam Lane as vehicle access only, maintaining safe circulation space for pupils within the secure site boundary. The existing vehicle access on Owen Street will be closed off for the duration of the temporary school, only utilised for emergency fire hydrant access, and reinstated following the removal of the temporary buildings.
The temporary accommodation will maintain existing pupil numbers (420 pupils).
The proposal comprises of:
• Three new temporary (one three-storey, one two-storey and one single-storey) buildings consisting of classrooms, specialist classrooms, admin, staff spaces, associated storage spaces, stores and WCs.
• Temporary alterations to the existing landscaping to provide a secure line of fencing for the site and the provision of hard standing and cycle storage, all to be reinstated following the removal of the temporary school.
The proposed site is situated in a predominantly industrial and urban area to the North of central Warrington, Cheshire. The site is a self-contained industrial unit, approximately 1020m2 in size, complete with parking and an external yard that was likely built in the 1960’s. The total site area is just over 0.4 hectares and is approximately level.
The site is in close proximity to major roads, such as the A49 (Winwick Road), connecting to the M62 Motorway to the North. To the South is The Halliwell Jones Rugby Stadium then Warrington town centre and Warrington Central Train Station. There is existing access into the site via gates from Owen Street to the South or Dallam Lane from the West. Following the removal of the temporary teaching blocks, the site will be reinstated and returned to its initial state.
The temporary installation of three modular school buildings for Warrington UTC is necessary to ensure uninterrupted delivery of education during the essential remedial works to the existing school. The proposal is consistent with the strategic aims of the Warrington Local Plan 2021/22 – 2038/39 (adopted December 2023), particularly in promoting inclusive education, sustainable development, and minimising environmental impact.
Warrington Borough Council planners are considering the application under delegated powers, with a decision pending.
