The Department for Education has agreed to fund the building of a new school on the Mosslands site and proposes extending the school boundary to include part of Wallacre Playing Fields. This will mean less disruption to staff and students during construction and enable the new school to have improved sports facilities.

“A school is an important part of the local community and I will be seeking to ensure that  during the design and build there are structures in place to enable local residents, and organisations that currently use the playing fields, to be consulted about the potential opportunities that the building of the new school offers: for example, community use of the greatly improved sports facilities; better traffic management and parking and reviewing the layout and use of the playing fields.”  Wallasey’s Labour Councillor Brenda Hall  

In July 2022 it was announced that the Department for Education had accepted a bid from Wirral Council to include The Mosslands School in the national schools rebuilding programme. This was reported in the Wirral Globe at the time.

It was expected that only part of the school would be rebuilt, but recently I and the other local councillors were advised that after discussions and site assessments the Department for Education has approved a complete rebuild of the school to bring its facilities up to current standards. It is also proposed to extend the school boundary to include part of Wallacre Playing Fields. This is because early discussions with the Department for Education and their appointed architects indicated that this would be beneficial for both the construction and the overall design. It would enable the construction of the new school to be completed more quickly, with less disruption to staff and students and the enlarged site would be able to provide better off road parking and sports facilities.

If part of the playing fields is to be added to the school site then it has first to be redesignated as available for educational purposes. In jargon this is described as the land being appropriated, and the Department for Education has asked for that to be done  before the architects design the new school and ahead of the formal planning process. To enable that to happen, the council has had a public notice published in the Wirral Globe  announcing the intention to appropriate part of the playing field for educational purposes.

Below, you can view the public notice and a timeline of events with copies of the site plan and other relevant documents. 

The public notice says that any objections to the appropriation of part of the playing fields for educational purposes need to be submitted by 4pm on 16 August, but in discussions with the Senior Council Officer responsible for placing the notice I have been assured that objections may be made up to the end of August.

The public notice is to do with the size of the site that the new school will occupy, it will be some time yet before architects have completed the plans and these will go through the local planning procedure. It is likely to be 2-3 years before the new school is built and ready to be used.

If you wish to object to the appropriation of the land for educational purposes you must either email assetsupport@wirral.gov.uk or write to the Director of Regeneration and Place, Wirral Borough Council, Distribution Services, 5 Sandford St., Birkenhead CH411BN. If you email or write quote ref AFQ/Legal 4008208.

A school is an important part of the local community and I will be seeking to ensure that  during the design and build there are structures in place to enable local residents, and organisations that currently use the playing fields, to be consulted about the potential opportunities that the building of the new school offers: for example, community use of the greatly improved sports facilities; better traffic management and parking and reviewing the layout and use of the playing fields.

I will publish further information here as it comes available. In the meantime, if you have any questions or comments please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Councillor Brenda Hall

Timeline

2022

July

It’s announced in the local press that the Department for Education has agreed to include The Mosslands School in the national schools rebuilding programme. Wirral Globe 15 July 2022

2023

July

Senior Officers of Wirral Council advise local councillors that the Department for Education has decided that the best option would be to demolish the present buildings and build a new school. They also propose extending the school boundary to incorporate part of the adjacent Wallacre Playing Fields. This would minimise disruption to staff and students during the rebuild and mean the construction could be completed quicker and would also mean that the new school would be able to have improved off road parking and better sports facilities.

To enable this to happen the part of the playing field that is to be included in the site for the new school has to be redesignated as being for educational purposes, in the jargon, it has to be “appropriated” for educational purposes. The Council publishes a public notice in the Wirral Globe announcing the intention to appropriate part of the playing fields for educational purposes.

Further Information

• The Public Notice published in the Wirral Globe
• The Council decision to consult on the appropriation for educational purposes. Summarises the decision and the reasons. It has a number of attachments, which you can view at the end of the document but they are also listed here for ease.
  • The Officer Decision Form The legal record of the decision
  • A Report giving more of the background
  • Appendix1 shows the part of the playing field it is proposed to incorporate in the site for the new school
  • Appendix2 shows the boundaries of the present
  • Appendix3 shows the proposed boundaries of the new school