Purpose

The school rebuilding
programme funded by the Department for Education carries out major
rebuilding and refurbishment projects at schools and sixth form
college buildings across England, with buildings prioritised
according to their condition. Mosslands School, Wallasey has been
approved for a complete rebuild within the programme.
 
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Decision

The
Director of Regeneration and Place:
 
(1)
Approves the commencement of consultation to appropriate land shown
edged red on the annexed plan (“the Site “) which is
currently designated as Public Open Space to Educational Use as
shown in Appendix 1
 
(2)
Approves that if no objections are received following the
advertisement requirements of section 122 of the Local Government
Act 1972 the Site be appropriated for Educational use
 
(3)
Approves that if objections are received then those objections be
considered by the Assistant Director, Asset Management in
consultation with the Chair of the Economy, Regeneration and
Housing Committee.
 

Reasons for the decision

The
current site of the school presents significant challenges in
building a new educational facility whilst maintaining curriculum
continuity. Design opportunities of the school building and
associated external sports facilities would be missed if a wider
boundary was not taken into consideration for the school. The
existing school does not have sufficient dedicated playing
facilities and already makes use of part of the adjacent fields for
grass sports. Enlarging the school boundary to incorporate the Site
would provide the opportunity to meet educational needs and ensure
appropriate site security for pupils undertaking recreational
activities. The proposed school boundary is shown edged red in
Appendix 3. It is considered that the educational needs outweigh
the requirement for open space and that notably, community use will
still be available on the remaining Wallacre playing fields.

Alternative options considered

If
appropriation is not effected then the
educational needs may not be met in the most efficient way
possible. Any new build would focus solely on the existing red line
boundary shown edged red in Appendix 2. Early options show that
there would be significant practical difficulties in building a new
school within the current boundary, lost design opportunities to
deliver the best educational outcome and to enhance sports
facilities across the whole site for the wider community. Any build
project would be taking place on an existing school site delivering
a full curriculum and this would increase cost and programme
timescales.