Councillor likens Sale school extension to 'aircraft hanger' (From Messenger Newspapers)

Councillor likens Sale school extension to 'aircraft hanger'

9:00am Monday 25th February 2013 in News By Kate Banks, Reporter

SPRINGFIELD Primary School was granted planning permission to build a new two storey classroom block – despite one councillor likening plans to an ‘aircraft hanger’.

At a Trafford planning committee meeting on February 14, the acting headteacher of the Springfield Primary, which is close to Sale town centre, said the existing junior block at the 105-year-old school, though beautiful, is no longer fit for purpose.

Mrs Shard said: “The window frames are so rotten we now have to board them up, glass can no longer be fitted into them. A lot of tiles and lead have been stolen from the roof which is a constant headache.”

The headteacher added that a considerable number of siblings have been unable to attend the same school due to lack of space, which has proved to be a logistical nightmare for parents.

However, Ashton on Mersey councillor, Michael Whetton, described the plans as an ‘opportunity missed’ and said they made ‘no attempt to match in at all’.

Chairman of Trafford planning committee, Cllr Vivienne Ward, took issue and defended the plans, to which Cllr Whetton replied: “I’ve seen better looking aircraft hangers.”

According to the planning documentation, efforts have been made to retain period features of the school, which is considered a Non-Designated Heritage Asset, such as the octagonal chimneys and terracotta entrance portals.

The plans were approved despite 13 letters of objection from members of the public.

Sale Moor councillor, Phil Gratrix, said: “We’re never going to build schools like we did in 1905.”