Welcome to the Upton-by-Chester High School New Build Information Hub

We are excited to let you know that a planning application will soon be submitted for the redevelopment of Upton-by-Chester High School.  This welcome redevelopment will deliver significantly improved educational facilities for the local community, building on the school’s educational successes.

The redevelopment of Upton-by-Chester High School is funded by the Department for Education as part of their School Rebuilding Programme. Kier Construction has been selected by the Department for Education to design and build the new school. 

The majority of the existing school buildings are earmarked for demolition and a new three storey, U-shaped school building will be built on the existing grass playing field to the east of the site.

New grass playing fields will then be created to the west of the site (following demolition of the existing buildings).

Two buildings that will be retained are a building towards the western site boundary known by the school as ‘The Hub’ which will be refurbished, and a modular classroom which will be relocated to provide a community use facility.

There will be no change to vehicular / pedestrian access points into the site, and a new bus stop facility and taxi drop-off spaces will be brought into the school boundary.  The existing carparking within the site will be retained, with slight reconfiguration and the installation of electric vehicle charging points. New cycle shelters will also be installed with an increased capacity. 

There will be no change to staff and pupil numbers as a result of the redevelopment.

The new building will minimise energy demand and use low carbon / renewable energy solutions.  This will include solar panels on the roof and on canopies around the grounds.

Please click HERE to view a document that outlines our proposals in more detail ahead of the planning application submission.

Please click HERE to see our summary information flyer.

The public engagement period for the redevelopment of Upton-by-Chester High School closed on 18^th December 2024.  The comments received have been passed on to the project team and they are being reviewed.  The project team will provide responses to the comments received in due course.  Project updates will be shared on this webpage as things progress.

We will be submitting the planning application early in 2025. Once the application has been submitted, it will be available to view and comment on via Cheshire West and Chester Council’s online planning portal:  https://www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/residents/planning-and-building-control/see-or-comment-on-planning-applications/how-to-view-an-application

Subject to receiving planning permission the school redevelopment is planned to commence in Summer 2025.

Update 16th May 2025

Further to our recent update below, we wanted to further update you on progress with the project. 

The Council has had 21 days to consider our EIA Screening Request, and this ended on 30^th April.  We are aware that this is still being considered by the Council.

In order to keep to the wider project programme, under instruction from the Department for Education, we have submitted a full planning application to the Council this week.  This is with the Council for their validation, and we will write to you again when we have the application reference number and the documentation is available online.

Whilst it was our preference to wait for the Screening Opinion response ahead of submitting the full planning application, and the outcome of this process is currently unknown, the planning regulations do not require that we wait for it, and the Screening Opinion process can be concluded by the Council after a planning application is received.

We will write and update you again once we know the outcome of the Screening Opinion process, and explain what impact, if any, it will have on the wider consideration of the planning application.

The School’s website will also be updated once the planning application is publicly accessible and when the Screening Opinion response has been received.

Update 21st April 2025

Please find below an update on our progress with preparing the planning application.

Firstly, we have reviewed the feedback received during our public engagement period and we are now providing this update to inform you about a key change to our proposals relating to our construction access arrangements.

Rather than taking construction access from the St James Avenue school accesses for the duration of the construction period, we are now proposing to only use this arrangement for a limited period of time at the start and end of the project (16 weeks and 12 weeks respectively).  The main construction access for the new build and demolition phases (116 weeks) will instead be taken from an alternative temporary access on the A41.  The temporary arrangement on the A41 will require a left-turn in and a left-turn out, with all traffic travelling north-bound on entering and exiting the site.  This will avoid the need for temporary traffic lights, and speed surveys have shown us that there is no need for a reduction in the speed limit on the A41.

The St James Avenue access will be used to set the site up, undertake enabling works and construct the new A41 access at the outset of the construction period; and will also be used to install the new sports pitches and deconstruct the A41 access and internal haul road at the end of the construction period.  When this access is in use, HGV numbers will be low, and they will only be used for construction deliveries between 9.15am and 2.45pm, avoiding school start and finish times, and avoiding rush hour periods.  There will also be no HGV access on a Saturday morning (or indeed the rest of a weekend).

This revised approach will form the basis of our planning application in due course.

Secondly, we have now submitted an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Screening Report to Cheshire West and Chester Council, requesting a formal Screening Opinion as to whether the proposed development constitutes ‘EIA Development’ in the context of the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017 (as amended) and therefore whether it requires a specific type of report known as an ‘Environmental Statement’ to be submitted with the planning application.  This is a technical process which most residents are unlikely to be familiar with, but it will inform the planning application approach going forward.

The Screening Report that we have submitted demonstrates that in our view there will be no ‘likely significant effects’ on the environment and therefore that no Environmental Statement is required with the planning application. The Council needs to consider this Report and come to their own view on this within 21 days of receiving our request.  Irrespective of whether an Environmental Statement is ultimately required, it should be noted that a large number of technical reports across a range of environmental topics will nevertheless be submitted with the planning application for consideration by the Council.

Lastly, another notable change is that we have moved the relocated modular building away from the rear boundary of properties on St James Avenue on our proposed plan.

This and any other changes that we have made to the proposals will be further explained within the full planning application in due course, and responses will also be provided to all of the comments made during our public engagement period.

We will update this webpage again once a formal EIA Screening Opinion has been issued by the Council.