'Not fit for purpose' school buildings set for demolition as major plan unveiled

Plans to demolish a Leicestershire school’s “not fit for purpose” art and design buildings have emerged. The transformation forms part of a major redevelopment which would see a new "modern" school block built close to nearby residents’ homes.

The transformation has been put forward by the Castle Rock School in Coalville and centres on five buildings that form part of their art and design block. The buildings formerly belonged to King Edward VII Science and Sport College prior to its merger with Castle Rock in 2020, with all students using the buildings across the two sites.

However, Castle Rock says the buildings are now “no longer fit for purpose” and claims demolishing them and creating a new block will cost less than renovating them. If approved, the new block would be sited on land west of the main Castle Rock School building and be located on part of their current playing fields.

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The new block, which would be two storeys in height, would be a U-shaped building that would back onto residents in nearby Castle Rock Drive. Officials made clear the site would be suitably screened off to limit any visual disruption.

dpp Planning, on behalf of Castle Rock School, said the new building will “provide improved teaching facilities” which will also be safer for students. It added: “The new build will provide a modern and sustainable location for students to learn in [and] will reduce travel times across the site and between buildings.”

The major redevelopment would also see three new multi-use games areas (MUGAs) installed on the former art and design block. This, Castle Rock School says, would allow for a further “diversification of the sports curriculum”, but no specific new sports are mentioned in the plan.

The MUGAs would also be made available for Coalville residents too, while the existing swimming pool block and other sports pitches are unaffected by the plan. dpp claims the MUGAs new location would be better suited to the community as well courtesy of the adjoining car park.

No changes to school places are being made as part of the redevelopment, while parking is also unchanged in planning documents. The build, if approved, would be split into three phases, with the new school building erected before the art and design block is flattened and replaced with the MUGAs.

dpp Planning says the proposal is backed by the Department for Education which found that demolition was the most “cost-effective” proposal. The applicant also believed the new two-storey block would benefit students.

dpp said the new block would provide “much-needed new facilities” in place of ones that were “no longer fit for purpose”. The applicant did acknowledge the partial loss of playing fields, but said the scheme’s benefits outweighed any negatives. A decision on the plan will be made by North West Leicestershire District Council at a later date.

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