Demolition of former Wigan high school resumes
A Wigan community’s skyline is rapidly changing as the wrecking balls move back into the site of a former high school.
There was a mixture of feelings among local residents this week as much of the rest of what was once Pemberton Secondary Modern School (later Pemberton HIgh, Kingsdown High, Pembec and Central Park) on Montrose Avenue, Norley, began to crash to the ground.
Never an architectural masterpiece, the 1960s buildings were nonetheless important to countless thousands of young people’s education and upbringing over the decades, so there is some sadness in seeing them go, while others have expressed relief that an eyesore is finally being removed and that the project is paving the way for the remainder of Hope School to move to the site once the land is cleared and smart new buildings created.
Sixth form provision decamped from Hope’s old Marus Bridge home early last year after a previous demolition, construction and building restoration phase was completed.
And eventually the remaining pupils will move to Norley too although clearly that culmination of the £11m project won’t have come as soon as originally hoped.
Wigan Council held consultations on a comprehensive redevelopment of how pupils with special educational needs (SEN) are taught locally in 2018 and ’19.
And with public backing, the first phase involved Hope School moving from Marus Bridge to Pemberton and, from then on, virtually every other special school in the borough would then either move or be almost totally rebuilt.
The plan was to have the Montrose Avenue site completely redeveloped by the end of 2024, but now it looks like 2026 at the earliest.
One resident said: “It’s sad to see these buildings coming down because they hold a lot of memories for so many people from their formative years.”
Another said: “These prefab-type buildings have been a blot on the landscape for a long time – even when they were being used as a school! – so I’m glad to see them go.”
The Hope School project was the most urgent because the Marus Bridge site is deemed to be too small, has issues with the condition of the buildings and has had problems with flooding, its electricity supply and shortage of parking spaces.
The new school will have 25 more places.