Tarleton Academy

We are proposing to set the new school building back from the main road, allowing space for parking and bus pick up/drop off stops. The main school building is proposed towards the centre of the site, surrounded by smaller new and existing buildings, a new Multi-Use Games Area (MUGA) and open garden spaces. The proposed layout is shown here. It shows how we are proposing to redevelop the school site.

The majority of the existing school buildings on site would be demolished, apart from the existing two-storey Ribble building and Sports Hall which will be retained.

Illustrative layout plan - click to enlarge

We are not looking to extend the school boundary, which is identified by the red line on the layout plan above. All new buildings are proposed within parts of the site currently hard surfaced or within the footprint of existing buildings.

The majority of the existing school buildings were built using the Laingspan method, which was popular in the 1950s and 60s.  These structures are now reaching the end of their design life and have potential structural weaknesses which means that they are not suitable for retention.

The proposed new high quality school facilities will provide staff and pupils with a significantly improved learning environment.

The new school building will comprise three key elements which make up the final, single school building:

• A main block including classrooms, library, offices and other associated teaching facilities.
• A second block including a dining hall, main and drama studio.
• A third block will include a swimming pool and its support facilities.

Draft floorplans are included here to show what will be included within the new building.

Ground Floor Plan - click to enlarge

First Floor Plan - click to enlarge

Second Floor Plan - click to enlarge

We have been working carefully on the design of the building to ensure that the new school will be an improvement for everyone in the village and surrounding areas.  

The building has been carefully designed to accommodate all of the required facilities, while keeping the building as compact as possible. The proposed views show how the building will look from different perspectives.

We are in the process of considering what materials we will use to construct the buildings. This is likely to include brickwork and high-quality and safe cladding. The precedent images included below shows the current inspiration for the material palette.

The new building will include one new three-storey building, along with some double height, single height and one and a half storey height spaces.

The proposed layout has been designed to take the reality of the site, its surroundings and its neighbours into account.

The main new building has been set back from the site boundaries, in a central position of the site, and restricted to three storeys high – which is lower than the existing four-storey building. The layout maintains separation between the building and site neighbours to reduce visual impact on the character of the area and neighbouring properties.

The proposals also include landscaping and planting to provide natural screening between site neighbours and the school.

Vehicles will access the site from Hesketh Lane as they do currently. Vehicles will arrive into a newly located car park which has been extended and reconfigured to include dedicated bus drop-offs, accessible bays and community parking spaces.

One of the benefits of the scheme is that it will remedy current congestion issues caused by the on-street parking of school buses. The proposals include on-site parking and an associated turning head, with the aim of reducing the current congestion on the surrounding roads.

There would be additional new planting and landscaping on site, to include new garden spaces and areas of public realm – along with consideration for strengthening and respecting existing habitat corridors. The proposals have been designed to take the existing site topography and planting into account with existing trees and hedgerows retained where possible.

The site is within Flood Zone 1, as categorised by the Environment Agency, which is the lowest risk of flooding. Drainage of the site will avoid any unacceptable risk of off-site flooding and will incorporate sustainable drainage methods to minimise the rate of water runoff. 

The Department for Education is keen to move new-build schools towards a net zero carbon future and the scheme will therefore include the use of renewable technologies. At this stage we would expect this to include solar PV panels and trees for shading.

We take our role as a centre for the community very seriously and these new facilities will also enable us to provide improved opportunities for all our primary partners along with continued and ever-developing out of hours’ community provision.

The use of school facilities by the community would be managed to ensure site neighbours are not disturbed. The hours of use will be stated in the planning application and will be fixed by a condition on the planning permission if granted. 

The construction will be managed in four stages:

• Stage one: Site set up including a temporary car park
• Stage two: Construction of the new school building
• Stage three: Demolition of the existing school buildings (as stated above)
• Sage four: Completion including all additional external works

A Construction Management Plan will be prepared and agreed with West Lancashire Borough Council. This will provide details of how construction will be carefully timed and managed.  This would be secured by condition on the application.

A full planning application will be submitted in spring 2021. A separate enabling works application will be submitted to allow Phase One work to start on site in September 2021.

The programme has been driven by the requirements of the Government and the academic timetable, which would mean construction would need to begin in September 2021.

We anticipate that the new school building will be open for the start of the 2023 / 2024 term in September 2023.