School rebuild plan gets approval

Plans to demolish a primary school and build a new one have been approved.

Castle Hill School, on Halifax Road in Todmorden, was originally built in 1912 but the building has deteriorated to such a degree it is no longer fit for purpose.

Calderdale Council has been given permission by the Department for Education to move forward with plans for a new school on the site.

A further application will have to be submitted to build a temporary school to house pupils during a lengthy construction period, expected to take about 18 months.

The suggested location for the temporary structure is on green land in the town’s Centre Vale Park.

The replacement Castle Hill School will be funded by the DfE through the School Rebuilding Programme.

It will be a part two-storey, part one-storey stone-fronted building in keeping with the local setting, equipped to minimise energy demand using low-carbon and renewable solutions, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

In response to the planning application, nine representations of support and one objection were received.

Those in favour agreed the building was not fit for purpose, while Todmorden Town Council has also given its support.

The objector said the plans would mean the loss of a heritage building and claimed it was in poor condition due to neglect, describing the design of the new school as "low quality".

Planners concluded the application met local and national planning guidelines, subject to some conditions, and on balance the educational benefit of the new building outweighed what would be lost.

The school community consists of 210 primary-age pupils, 26 nursery pupils and 30 full-time equivalent staff and it is not envisaged the roll will change.

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