Work is expected to start later this year
The new Mosslands School will be a major change for the area(Image: Ellis Williams Architects Limited)
Plans have gone in for a new Merseyside school, with work expected to start later this year if the go ahead is given.
The Mosslands School in Wirral was one of two in Wirral earmarked to be rebuilt in 2022 with funding paid for by the Department for Education (DfE.) The current cost of the project is expected to be just under £58m and will see an entire redevelopment of the school site.
The new school will be built to the south of the existing school site which will enable Mosslands to continue operating in its current buildings while works take place. Parts of the school were first built in 1952 but are now past their expiry date leading to problems such as leaking roofs and a whole host of other issues.
With the redevelopment will come a brand new three-storey school building, a new theatre, two sports halls and fitness suite, a junior pitch, netball courts, a full size county level pitch, and an under 12s pitch alongside an engineering centre and facilities for children with complex needs. Better insulated buildings, solar panels, and a ground source heat pump is expected to save at least £160,000 in running costs.
Earlier this year following the release of the school plans, the public were asked for their thoughts on the plans with a clear majority supporting the proposals. 77% said they were in favour with just 10.5% saying they were against.
What the new Mosslands School could look like from the outside(Image: Ellis Williams Architects Limited)
Following this, a planning application has been put in for the new school as well as wider improvements for the Wallacre playing fields to the south of Mosslands.
Half of the current pitches will be taken up by the new school while the remaining pitches to the south will see a new pavilion, raised levels, a new cycle path, and better drainage.
If approved, the first stage of development will be the new school on the northern area of the Wallacre playing fields with work expected to start in autumn 2025 and finish in spring 2027.
The second stage will see pupils moved over to the new school and the old school demolished, the new car park and bike store created, and the other new pitches which are expected to be finished in the summer of 2028.
A separate community entrance will be created off Mosslands Drive to allow the public to get access to the sports hall, changing facilities, and sports pitches. The two sports halls will allow both the school and the community to independently use the facilities and a separate entrance will be created for a foodbank.
In the school grounds, wildflower meadows, ponds, and new trees will be planted. The school which currently has no onsite playing fields will have a new county level pitch, a smaller pitch, as well as netball courts and an AstroTurf, all of which can be accessed by the community and will replace lost pitches at Wallacre.
Mosslands headteacher Adrian Whiteley previously told the ECHO: “What it’ll mean is they’ll be coming to a building that’s been built for them. We’ve got an IT centre, we’ve got an e-sports room. A whole series of engineering rooms that have been purpose built and that is what our students say they want and what they value so it will be great for them.”
He said it made him optimistic about the future of the school, adding: “It’s long overdue but it’s the best thing that will have happened in Wallasey for a long long time.”