New homes plan as schools' site to be sold off

Lancashire County Council has instructed property company CBRE’s Manchester Land and Development team to sell the 25-acre site, off Kiddrow Lane, which housed Ivy Bank High School, sixth form and later Blessed Trinity RC College, before it moved into a new purpose-built facility in Ormerod Road.

Bosses at the property giant said the site is “ideally suited to residential development due to its positioning within an established residential location close to local schools and amenities with links to rail and road transport.”

Surveyors hope the recently-re-opened Todmorden Curve rail link to Manchester will make it an attractive prospect for developers.

Rebecca Harper, senior surveyor at CBRE Manchester, said: “This extensive site offers a unique opportunity to create an aspirational development in a well-connected and attractive location within Burnley. The redevelopment of this key site could make a significant contribution to both the long-term regeneration of the area and the local housing requirements and we anticipate high levels of interest.”

The site has not been used since the completion of the county council’s Building Schools for the Future programme, which saw the borough’s existing secondary schools merge and new state-of-the-art schools built across town.

The site of the nearby demolished Habergham High School, in Byron Street, is currently being developed by Burnley High School for its new building, which it plans to open in April 2017.