Students at a Haverhill secondary school could soon be benefitting from state-of-the-art facilities, under exciting plans revealed this week.
An ambitious revamp of facilities at Castle Manor Academy is planned, which includes extensive refurbishment and upgrades to the school buildings and current facilities and the refurbishment of a new teaching block.
A new all-weather sports pitch, for both school and community use, is also proposed.
The plans for the Eastern Avenue site would be dependent on the sale of the former Parkway Middle School site, currently the head office of Unity Schools Partnership.
The trust said that all money raised from the sale would be invested into Castle Manor with work starting at the school in 2025.
Tim Coulson, chief executive of Unity Schools Partnership, said: “We are proud to have the school within our trust and of the education the school provides.’
“But we have long identified the need to improve and modernise existing facilities and the sale of Park Road would allow us to push ahead with these plans.”
Vanessa Whitcombe, headteacher at Castle Manor Academy, added: “We pride ourselves on providing quality education within the heart of our community for both current and future generations of students.
“Having wanted them for so long, we are delighted that these exciting plans could now see the light of day.”
A consultation into the proposed disposal and development of the Park Road site was launched this week.
Consultation documents
It will run for six weeks and will include a public meeting at Castle Manor Academy on Wednesday 12th January at 6pm.
Feedback from the consultation will be provided to the Department for Education for a decision on whether the scheme will go ahead.
Unity Schools Partnership, which will begin the process of finding a new head office, has also begun consulting with local organisations and groups that currently use Park Road – but a spokesperson insisted it would be at least a year until the plans became more definite.
To give your views on the plans, please fill in the consultation document (above) or email your views to projects@unitysp.co.uk.