Radcliffe: Plans for new homes on former school site approved

The new development will see 90 homes built on the now vacant site of the former Riverside High School on School Street in Radcliffe.

The application was approved by the council's planning control committee at a meeting on Tuesday. 

A mixture of three and four bedroom homes will be replace the former school which was built in the 1970s and demolished in 2015.

The northern part of the site is now occupied by Millwood School, while the rest has remained vacant.

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The plans were first submitted to the committee earlier this year by property developer Hive Homes.

Committee members were given recommendations to approve the application ahead of the meeting.

After a public consultation, committee members received some concerns that the new development could increase traffic in the area, especially on School Street, which is narrow and can only accommodate single file traffic.

Further worries were raised about nearby amenities and if existing infrastructure, including doctor's and dentist’s surgeries, would be enough to support the new development.

Plans for the 90 new homes at the former Riverside High School site (Image: Bury Council planning committee)

Radcliffe First councillor for Radcliffe East ward, Mary Walsh, asked if current plans for a new high school on Spring Lane in Radcliffe would provide enough spaces as housing developments increased. 

Addressing the planning committee on Tuesday, she said: “There has been several developments in Radcliffe already, there’s proposals for (more than) 400 houses.

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“Are there any plans to increase the infrastructure for dentists, doctors and schooling?”

The council’s head of development management, David Marno, said the issue was not something the council could deal with “at this time".

Radcliffe First Cllr for Radcliffe West ward, Des Duncalf, said: “As you know I’m ward councillor for that ward, I walk School Street probably two or three times per week, it’s an exceedingly quiet road, I have no objections at all to this.

"I’m exceedingly happy that we’re going to keep two thirds of the trees on the site as well.”

Following the debate, committee members voted unanimously to approve the development.