New St Julie’s plan unveiled

A proposal to rebuild St Julie’s Catholic High School largely on its existing site in Liverpool is being unveiled.

Just five percent of the neighbouring open space (part of Woolton Woods) will be affected, and none of the woodland or trees will be disturbed.

A meeting is being held at St Julie’s on Speke Road on Wednesday 10 September from 6pm for local people, parents and pupils to be presented with the preferred option.

St Julie's site plan with the new school taking up just five percent of the adjoining space
St Julie’s site plan with the new school taking up just five percent of the adjoining space

Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson said: “This scheme will deliver a fantastic new school for the area, benefiting hundreds of families who live in and around Woolton, as well as the wider community.

“We have listened to the school and local residents to come up with a workable solution which means the school can stay where it is and minimise the impact on the surrounding area. We believe we have developed an exciting and workable compromise for everyone.

“The proposal we have come up with means 95 percent of the neighbouring field and all of the woodland will be completely untouched, leaving plenty of open space for the local community.

“This is a chance for the local community to come along to the meeting, learn the facts about what we are proposing and see our plans for a fantastic new facility which will benefit generations of young people and the local community.”

Headteacher of St Julie’s, Tim Alderman, said: “We are pleased with the latest proposal that the council has come up with for St Julie’s and our students.

“It will provide a 21st century learning environment that includes the latest technology as well as cutting edge resources which are becoming increasingly difficult and expensive to deliver in our current school building.

“We are all really excited at the prospect of seeing the proposals become reality, delivering real benefits for pupils now and in the future and for the wider local community, particularly young families.”

A complete rebuild on the existing footprint of the St Julie’s site is not considered feasible due to tight site constraints, and a comprehensive survey has shown there are no other suitable sites nearby which would deliver a large enough building or provide safe access.

Existing access points will be used during construction of the new school. There will be no change to vehicular access to the school site.

An original plan to move St Julie’s to the former Lower Lee Special School on Beaconsfield Road in Woolton was withdrawn in June following concerns from residents over traffic.

The project is part of the Liverpool Schools Investment Programme, which will see at least 12 new schools built. It was devised as a rescue package following the scrapping of Wave Six of Liverpool’s Building Schools for the Future (BSF) project, and is one of the Mayor’s key pledges.

Liverpool Waterfront