King’s governors approve school plans

Governors of The King’s School in Macclesfield approved the build and finance agreement to deliver the school’s 2020 Vision.

The £60m development on an 80 acre site at Four Lane ends, Prestbury, is possibly the most ambitious since the school was established some 500 years ago and will be amongst the largest educational projects in the country.

Vinci Construction UK which has previously delivered landmark buildings such as the Waters HQ premises in Wilmslow, has been appointed as lead contractor.

Award-winning multi-disciplinary practice Pick Everard will be project architects.

Preliminary works have already started and the new school will be delivered by May 2020, in plenty of time for the start of the 2020-2021 academic year.

Final lessons at Cumberland Street and on Fence Avenue, therefore, will take place in July 2020.

Dr John Kennerley, chair of governors at King’s, said: “We are delighted to be able to launch our 2020 Vision for King’s.

“It will deliver not just a fantastic new campus for our pupils, but enable us to develop further community use of the school beyond the twenty-seven organisations that already share our facilities.”

The cost of the new school will largely be met from the sale of the school’s current sites, which will be developed for housing (read more, here).

Savills development director, Ed Rooney commented: “We are delighted to have assisted with the planning and land disposal process and to have concluded one of the largest residential land transactions to date in the North of England.”

King’s headmaster, Dr Simon Hyde added: “We are extremely keen to ensure that our legacy is a positive one both for the school and Macclesfield in general.

“The development of a mix of sustainable housing close to the town centre will hopefully continue both to bolster the attractiveness of Macclesfield as a place to live and to support the many excellent new shops and businesses currently taking root.”