Peace Centre plans for SEN provision are formally submitted

In a move that has been expected for a while, applicant Warrington Borough Council has submitted an application to its own planning department regarding the development.

The Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Peace Foundation was set up after the IRA bombing of Warrington in 1993, which took the lives of Tim Parry, aged 12, and Johnathan Ball, aged three.

Out of that tragedy, the Peace Foundation was established and named in honour of the two boys, and on the seventh anniversary of the bombing, on March 20, 2000, the Peace Centre building was opened in Great Sankey.

For the last two decades, the building has provided a base for vital work to be carried out to help young people, victims of terrorism and communities in conflict.

The building is not only a living memorial to Tim and Johnathan Ball, but a multi-purpose building with a range of facilities, including a games area, sports hall, residential quarters, the Hope Cafe, conference facilities and meeting rooms.

In 2022 after nearly 30 years of operation, the Peace Foundation started scaling down its use of the building, with previous tenants such as the NSPCC and Warrington Youth Zone relocating elsewhere, and large parts of the building now scarcely used.

The Peace Centre building

These new plans look to create a provision of a post-16 and post-19 educational facility within the existing Peace Centre building, including classrooms and multi-purpose spaces.

External facilities to be provided include an all-weather walking track, horticultural learning area and playground, as well as car parking for minibuses and an enlarged pick-up and drop-off space.

The Peace Foundation will continue to occupy space within the building for office use a multi-use space for occasional activities.

Moreover, the application seeks approval for the expansion of the existing staff parking provision of neighbouring St Gregory's Catholic High School car park, and the provision of a safe drop-off and pick-up area, together with a turning circle along Peace Drive.

Documents submitted as part of the application state: “The background to this project looks at two separate issues, and explores an opportunity to find a joint solution to both via the conversion and re-use of the existing Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Peace Foundation building, the Peace Centre.

“There is currently no facility within Warrington for the continued education of those aged 19 and over with SEN.

“The Peace Centre building has been identified by Warrington Borough Council as an opportunity to take on a unique, multi-use landmark building in Warrington to provide additional SEN facilities with a central location, providing space for both post-16 and post-19 educational facilities under one roof.”

Impressions of how the Peace Centre building would look

Another issue to be addressed with the application is parking at the site, which is used by St Gregory’s High School.

“As the Peace Centre has been operating at a reduced capacity over recent years, the private car park and turning circle that form part of its ownership have been used on an informal basis by staff and visitors to the adjacent high school,” plans add.

“In addition to this, the school has expanded in terms of pupil and staff numbers and physical building capacity, however the expansion has not included any additional parking facilities or improved access arrangements.

“To address this safety concern and to improve the staff parking provision for the school as part of the council’s wider education remit, a further study was undertaken and a resulting design developed to provide a new turning circle on an extended Peace Drive, in addition to expanding the existing staff parking provision at St Gregory’s High School.”

As part of the proposed work, approximately 75 per cent of the Peace Centre’s exterior will need to be removed and replaced, while almost all internal partitions, doors and screens would also be changed.

Other elements, such as the external muti-use games area, associated hard and soft landscaping and the glazed entrance canopy from Cromwell Road, would be demolished and removed from the site.