After laying vacant for the past 50 years, the new secondary school planned will breathe life into the disused site that sits at a key entry-point to Derby city centre.

LocatED, on behalf of the Department for Education, simultaneously exchanged and completed on 19th December 2017 on the approx. 9.1 acre site off Great Northern Road, forming part of the wider Friar Gate Goods Yard area. The school once completed will provide places for 1,200 secondary students.

The school was given the go-ahead last year and is initially scheduled to open in September 2018 in temporary accommodation in central Derby at Midland House in Nelson Street, whilst the brand new state-of-the-art facilities are being developed on the newly acquired site.

Rav Cheema, Acquisitions Manager for LocatED said: “We are delighted that part of the Friar Gate Goods Yard site, which has remained vacant for so long, has been secured for the Derby Cathedral School. The secondary education provision will help meet the urgent need for more pupil places in the city, and local residents are pleased to see the land brought back in to use. The acquisition looks to be a stimulus for wider regeneration in the area, which is great news for all the stakeholders involved both directly and indirectly.”

The next steps for the site will include; completing standard feasibility and investigative work with the view to appointing a contractor for the development, then working with all parties and the local community to submit a planning application towards the end of the year.

Find out more about the Derby Cathedral School here: www.derbycathedralschool.org.uk

Get in touch

Rav Cheema is an Acquisitions Manager at LocatED and is responsible for acquiring sites for free schools in the Midlands. Review the latest site requirements here and get in touch at Sites@Located.co.uk.