Key visit from FA to school site

The former Balderstone Technology College site in Queen Victoria Street, Rochdale

The FA have been invited by Rochdale Football Club to visit the site of the former Balderstone Technological college as it attempts to move forward plans to convert the location into a youth football training academy.

Involved with this visit will be representatives from the Council's strategic housing and planning departments.

This is the latest stage in a pocess to find a community purpose for the site once Kingsway Park High school relocates permanently back to the newly renovated Springhill site during summer 2013.

Last autumn Cllr Dale Mulgrew formed a community consultation group to ensure there was a local input into this process. At the start of the year this group endorsed a plan to explore whether the local football club could lease from the council the significant part of the school site that will not be developed for housing.

There has already been a couple of site visits undertaken by representatives of the football club. This latest one is a serious push to test whether a key funding partner will support their plans or not.

Cllr Dale Mulgrew added: "I welcome the ongoing interest in the site from Rochdale FC and the fact that this interest is now being taken to the next level, with the FA invited to see the great potential of this excellent location."

"After the visit I hope to hear that developments can move further along and a formal feasibility study can be undertaken. The vision for the site is a Rochdale FC run youth training facility that will have a community component, ensuring local access to sports and learning is maintained.

"We now have plenty of young people inspired and motivated to take up sport after the marvellous spectacle of London 2012. If these plans for Baldersonte tech College can proceed then some of our future local talent can have a first class facility to play sport at."