New Salford secondary school could open by 2023

A new secondary school could open in Salford by 2023 if plans are approved.

Salford Council has agreed to transfer the land off Longshaw Drive in Little Hulton to the Department for Education before construction gets under way.

Once the work is complete, the Star Leadership Academy Trust will take over the lease which has been given approval to open a new free school on the site.

And with the 125-year lease agreed, work could start on site in early 2022.

Deputy mayor John Merry approved the land transfer on Monday 13 December.

The ‘peppercorn’ lease will be granted before the main construction works begin, according to a council report to the property and regeneration briefing.

It said: “The intention is that the free school trust, The Star Leadership Academy, will procure the construction works on the site.

“Following completion of these works, the academy will take an assignment of the Lease from the Secretary of State.”

What will the school be like?

The Secretary of State for Education approved the multi-academy trust’s application to open a new secondary free school in Salford in June 2019.

A total of 750 places would be offered at the new free school – which would be funded directly by central government – for pupils aged between 11 and 16.

The school is expected to bring around £16m of capital investment to the city.

There will be some costs to the council associated with the highway network but this would be funded using government grants and planning contributions.

A planning application for the new two-storey school on land west of Longshaw Drive is currently being considered by the local authority.

It comes as Salford’s planning panel is set to vote on plans for 177 homes elsewhere on the site which was once home to Harrop Fold High School.

The housing development, which has been proposed by council-owned company Dérive, would feature a total of 45 apartments and 132 houses.

But only 96 of the new properties would be affordable or social housing.

Plans for the new secondary school on the southern section of the site are due to be decided by Salford Council by January, according to the council website.

If planning permission is granted, construction could start on site in early 2022, with the aim of completing the new school by September 2023.