Plans to bring a former school building, which is costing the council huge sums of money, back into use have taken a big step forward.
Tonight’s meeting of Wirral Council’s Children, Young People and Education Committee passed plans to go to consultation on a proposal for the former Kingsway Academy building, on Birket Avenue in Leasowe, to be adopted by Clare Mount Specialist Sports College, currently based just under three miles away on Fender Lane in Moreton.
In a previous report seen by the committee last year, several options were outlined but moving Clare Mount to the former Kingsway Academy is now seen as the preferred option.
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Clare Mount could move into the site as soon as September.
There is a clear need to bring the building back into use, given that it has been empty since 2018 and is costing Wirral Council £867,500 per year.
This cost has been incurred due to a PFI (private finance initiative) which allowed for the significant refurbishment and building of nine schools across Wirral, including eight secondary schools and one primary school.
But the contract, which Wirral Council entered into in 2001, means the local authority must pay £867,500 per year to Wirral Schools Services Ltd for the upkeep of the former Kingsway Academy site until 2032 unless another use for it is found.
Kingsway Academy, previously Wallasey School, closed in 2018, just three years after it opened.
When the school closed it had just 129 pupils on its roll, but the school site has a capacity of 1,450 pupils, with a former City Learning Centre (CLC) building also within the boundary of the school grounds.
Clare Mount has 249 pupils at the moment, and the school’s sixth form pupils are currently using Kingsway’s CLC facility.
Given the pupil numbers at Clare Mount, some of the former Kingsway site will remain unoccupied even if the school is able to move in.
Therefore, Wirral Council is going to explore future options for the remaining part of the building.
At tonight’s meeting, James Backhouse, Wirral Council’s assistant director of education, said the plan will reduce the cost of the site to the council.
Cllr Chris Carubia, a Liberal Democrat, asked how much room will be left at the site if Clare Mount moves in.
Mr Backhouse said Kingsway is a significant space, but that he wanted to focus on supporting Clare Mount to move in at the moment given the tight time frame to get the necessary work completed.
He added that plans for the remaining space will be looked at in the next academic year, which starts in September.
Conservative councillor Cherry Povall said the report, which means Clare Mount is getting closer to moving into the site, was “excellent news”.
