Wennington Hall School site up for sale

Sunday, 10 July 2022 11:12

The former Wennington Hall School site in Lancaster is up for sale by formal tender.

The site is approximately 6.820 hectares (16.85 acres) and is located to the northwest of Wennington village, off Lodge Lane.

The plot is described as a ‘development opportunity, subject to planning’.

Wennington Hall School is a former three storey country house that was built in the second half of the 19th century. The school building is Grade II Listed and falls within the Wennington Conservation Area.

There is currently permission to use the site as a residential care home, hospital, nursing home, boarding school, residential college, or training centre.

The closing date for tenders is 12 noon Friday 29 July 2022.

You can find out more here

The school - which educated 11-16-year-olds with social, emotional and mental health needs – is closing, after Lancashire County Council made the decision in March.

The school had the capacity to educate 80 pupils, but at the time of the decision there were only 15 on roll, with more than half due to leave. Attempts to find an academy sponsor or independent provider to take over the running of Wennington Hall failed.

The drop in pupil numbers also left the school with a £1.7m gap in its finances. That deficit is forecast to grow by £800,000 by the end of the current financial year – and by a further £2m over the course of the next two years

A public consultation that was carried out into the possible closure of the school back in the autumn received just four responses.

An earlier meeting of Lancashire County Council’s cabinet – at which the closure decision was made – heard that the seven children who are not yet due to leave the school have all been found alternative education.

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