PLANS to demolish a disused swimming pool for new facilities at an expanding Bradford district school have been approved.
Bingley Grammar School, in Keighley Road, applied to Bradford Council for the demolition of the existing disused swimming pool at the school, to make way for the building of a single-storey teaching block.
The application also included the external works to support conversion of the existing teaching building to a Special Educational Needs (SEN) facility location.
The area of the Bingley school will see the construction of a new three-classroom teaching block, and the conversion on the existing music block will require some minor works outside.
The new single-storey building will feature level access with an accessible toilet.
Work on the adjacent music block conversion is mostly alterations which are deemed necessary to the inside of the building, but the move will require the demolition of an existing garage structure, a secure fence upgrade and an external covered canopy.
The successful application is one of a number of expansion plans taking place at the site. Bingley Grammar School provides secondary education for 1,200 pupils aged 11 to 18, but the number will increase to 1,500 beginning at the start of the 2023-24 academic year from next month.
The demolition of the swimming pool to make way for the teaching block is the first phase of the school’s expansion work.
The application’s design and access statement, which was submitted to the school, stated the condition of the swimming pool site. It states: “The existing swimming pool was constructed in the 1950s as an open-air pool and had a timber structure erected over in the 1970s.
“The pool has been disused for a number of years and is now in a very poor condition.
“The timber covering, internal changing and poolside areas and the existing mechanical plant would require complete replacement for it to be brought back into use.
“With the expanded pupil intake, the school’s view is demolition and replacement with teaching spaces would be a more useful and economical purposing of the site.”
The report, produced alongside the school’s planning application, found that there is a ’High’ potential for bat roosting in the existing swimming pool to be demolished.
This means further bat surveys will take place throughout this year for any potential need for a bat licence before any demolition work on the swimming pool complex gets underway.
The application was granted by council planning officials on August 14, 2023.
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