Objections are growing over plans to convert a former care home in Salford into a new school. Salford City Council has received 62 objections to the plans for Laburnum Court Nursing Home on Priory Grove in Broughton, with 82 people writing to support the scheme.
An application landed on the council’s planning portal in June to convert the building into a replacement site for Beis Malka Girls School, which is currently based on Bury New Road.
A design report submitted with the plans stated: “It is proposed to convert the property to use as a charity funded school, providing education for girls in the Belz community. The existing school is registered with a capacity of 328 pupils and includes established support for over 30 SEND pupils.”
It added: “At present 95 percent of the pupils and walk the school, as do some of the staff. This will remain to be the case at the new site. During inclement weather a private minibus is provided for transportation.
“Therefore, there would not be a significant increase in traffic flow along Priory Grove resulting from these proposals.”
If approved, the building layout will be redesigned to create classrooms, staff areas, resource areas, and group spaces.
Laburnum Court was previously used as a care home operated by Belz Care Limited.
In November, it was announced that the site would close within three months, leading to job losses for staff and families having to find new homes for their relatives living in the care home.
A protest supported by Unison was held outside the building in January, with Laburnum Court staff claiming they had not been paid properly.
The situation led to Salford City Council stepping in to pay the staff. The council loaned a total of £113,000 to prevent ‘serious and immediate financial hardship for the former staff of Belz Care Limited who worked at Laburnum Court Care Home.’
Belz Care admitted at the time that “there were issues with payroll on this occasion which forced us to make interim wage payments to our staff,” adding that “the shortfalls were paid following receipt of funds.”
