A Preston secondary school has been told it can make a raft of changes to the listed building it occupies – but it will have to wait to learn whether a major extension will also be given the green light.

Archbishop Temple Church of England Secondary School in Fulwood applied for the special permission necessary to carry out alterations that will mean it can create a new science laboratory, as well as an extra classroom, music room and meeting space. Additional capacity will also be provided in the dining hall as a result of the modifications.

Some internal changes to Archbishop Temple School have been approved, but a decision over a major extension is yet to be reached | Google

placeholder image — Some internal changes to Archbishop Temple School have been approved, but a decision over a major extension is yet to be reached | Google

Preston City Council has given the green light to the revamp of the Grade II-listed premises on St. Vincent’s Road, much of which was described in a report by planning officers as being minor and of “no consequence” to the heritage value of the building.

However, the authority has not yet reached a decision on a separate planning application for a new two-storey block – to be attached to the sports hall – intended so that the school can admit an extra 55 pupils each year over the next five years. That would eventually take its total roll up to around 1,050 students.

Planning officials will have to consider the impact the proposed add-on would have on the listed structure. The latter was built in the 1960s, but in spite of its relative modernity has been given protected status because of innovations incorporated by the Preston-based Building Design Partnership (BDP), which was behind the facility.

On the internal changes to the existing building, town hall planners concluded that the most significant of them was the addition of new partition walls to divide the library space in order to form a new general teaching classroom and conference room.

It was acknowledged that such a change would result in the loss of an area in which “the form of the roof above can be appreciated”. However, it was found that the move “would not result in any substantive level of harm”, because the proposed alignment of the partitions with the window bars would still enable “appreciation of the form of the library space and not overly intrude on the appearance of the clerestory”.

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