A Barrow primary school has been given the go-ahead for a new building.
Sacred Heart Primary School’s existing premises on Lumley Street were condemned in January 2023 after a routine inspection discovered it was structurally unsound.
Since then, pupils have split their time between temporary buildings in its grounds and other schools and having shorter school days.
Preliminary plans to demolish the condemned building and next-door smaller buildings had already been approved, but plans for their replacement had to go before Westmorland & Furness Council’s Barrow local area planning committee.
The committee heard from headteacher, Simone Beach yesterday, Tuesday April 28.
She said: “I’ve got a really deep connection to this school, my mum went there, I went there, my children went there.
“I know lots of you in this room will be well-aware of what happened to our school, but on January 16 2023 we got evacuated because we had a routine building inspection and they said it was structurally unsound and we had to get out there and then.
“Since then, we have had eight different homes, we’ve moved all over, the children’s education has really suffered.
“They have had to put up with a shorter school day, buses, we’ve not always had the things we’ve needed to deliver the national curriculum because they were left in a condemned building.”
Planners had raised concerns about the design of the new building being bland and generic, but those concerns were mitigated with updated plans.
A planning officer told the committee that a slate totem feature at the school’s entrance made it more impactful, with the material being a feature that was typical of Barrow and its industrial heritage.
She added that other features, including brick pattern and detailing drew on the styling of the existing building and nearby church.
Councillor Frank Cassidy (Walney) said: “I think the children, the families, the headteacher, the staff and the community have waited a long time even to arrive at this point.
“They have had to put up with plenty along the way.2
Committee vice-chair Councillor Bill McEwan, who chaired the planning committee, added that they could not delay children’s education any further.
The committee voted unanimously to approve the proposals.
