MP Chris Skidmore at the Grange site with local councillors Sam & Elizabeth Bromiley
The government has stumped up just over £2m to enable the derelict Grange School site in Warmley to be redeveloped.
The funding will be spent on a new access into the site via a bridge over Warmley Brook.
Local MP Chris Skidmore lobbied the government on behalf of South Gloucestershire Council for the funds, telling Secretary of State for Housing, Communities & Local Government Robert Jenrick: “Without this access the site cannot be developed. Originally it was anticipated that the existing bridge could be remodelled, but survey work has determined that the current bridge is not structurally capable.”
There are plans to turn the former Grange School site into a new community with 200 new homes, a school, green space and sports facilities. Seventy of the homes will be affordable and 10 will be self-build.
The application was made to One Public Estate (OPE) for Brownfield Land Release Funding (BLRF) and Self Build Funding (SCB) for £2.02m earlier this summer.
Today Mr Skidmore said: “I am delighted that government ministers have now announced this £2m for brownfield regeneration locally and I was pleased to be able to lobby for it on behalf of the community.
“The former Grange School buildings have become a real eyesore in the community and we need to get on and provide new uses on the site to benefit local people. This includes new sports facilities, good quality green space, as well as a new school and affordable and energy efficient homes for local people.
“I was very clear in my representations to government ministers that we needed the full amount of funding to be supported and this means we can now get on and allow this site to contribute to our community’s future, just as it contributed to its past.”
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