Girl’s school given temporary consent for Taylor Street site

An independent girl’s school on Taylor Street has been granted temporary consent by the Council to stay open for another two years.

Plans went before Councillors at a planning meeting last night (7 June) to keep the school open - and despite Council officers recommending that Councillors refuse permission it was given the go ahead.

Councillors have given the school a two year temporary period to remain on the Taylor Street site, hopefully giving them enough time to find a new location.

The permission includes hours of use for the building of 9.30am – 4.00pm, Monday to Friday.

Rochdale Girl’s School has 100 pupils and provides Islamic and academic education for girls between 11 and 16 years old. 

The school was granted permission to stay in the building temporarily last year whilst it was in talks to take over the former High Birch Park School. However, the school was left without a permanent home when talks fell through. 

Two letters of objection and a petition with fourteen signatures were sent to the council. Issues such as noise coming from the playground, traffic and the state of the building have been raised, and taken into consideration.

One letter stated that “The residential properties adjacent are let to working people, some of which work night shifts. The noise levels at break times from the school make rest during the day impossible.”

A report presented to Councillors, read: "The current use of the building is quite different in nature to the use approved originally.

"The increase in the number of pupils together with the wider age range and the lack of off-street car parking has implications for noise levels and traffic generation.

"The use of the premises as a girls' school is clearly detrimental to highway and pedestrian safety, the free flow of traffic and residential amenity and this situation cannot continue indefinitely."