English Heritage talks with planners over Grade Two listed Bradford schools (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

English Heritage talks with planners over Grade Two listed Bradford schools

8:48am Wednesday 8th September 2010 in

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English Heritage is in talks with planners after raising concerns over the proposed demolition of Grade Two listed school buildings.

Bradford Council’s Building Schools for the Future team has applied to pull down and replace the protected buildings which are part of the site of Dixons Allerton Academy.

The former Rhodesway School, which was reopened as an academy in September 2009 under the sponsorship of Dixons City Academy, is intended to be rebuilt and opened in new £29 million buildings in 2012.

Its listed buildings were added to the protected register in 1993. Completed in 1959, the original buildings were acclaimed for their innovative design and were awarded the Royal Institute of British Architects’ Architectural Bronze Medal in West Yorkshire.

The listed buildings would make way for the academy’s primary provision, making the school a through-age academy for four to 19-year-olds. This element will be financed by the Council before it is handed over to the sponsor.

Efforts to incorporate the listed buildings in a new design have been abandoned because of the prohibitive expense.

A spokesman for English Heritage said: “English Heritage hasn’t formally objected to the application for listed building consent, but we have said that the information provided to date isn’t sufficient to make a case for justification for demolition, and that more information would need to be provided to both us and the Council for us to provide full comments.”

A Council spokesman said: “We understand the sensitivity that surrounds changes to any listed building, which is why staff at the academy and within children’s services have worked closely with English Heritage from the outset to see if there were ways of retaining the listed buildings.

“However, the cost of retaining, repairing and refurbishing the central core of the buildings would be very expensive and would not offer value for money.

“The building project team has been working to Government guidelines for the demolition of listed buildings and has provided English Heritage with additional information to demonstrate that there are no alternative sites in the area. These matters are currently being considered through the planning process.