Opponents to new 'super school' scheme want land to be ringfenced for community use

Local campaigners have launched a legal challenge against a proposed school redevelopment under the £350m Salford and Wigan BSF.

Opponents of a new “super school” in Lowton, Wigan, which would combine nursery, primary and secondary schools, want the land it would be built on to be ringfenced for community use.

They have applied for the proposed site, at Hesketh Meadows, to become a protected village green. Local press reports suggest that the move will “almost certainly” trigger a public inquiry.

To succeed, residents would have to prove the site has two decades of continuous and unchallenged community use.

Under the BSF proposals, the new school would replace Golborne and Lowton High Schools, and Lowton Junior and Infants Schools.

A Hoctief and Laing O’Rourke joint venture was named preferred bidder on the Salford and Wigan BSF this summer after a delay of 18 months. The two authorities are among the first to share a Local Education Partnership to build their schools. The LEP will design build and refurbish more than 20 schools across the two regions.

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