Council HQ set to become a special school

The council voted to close its headquarters last year

Cheshire East Council's headquarters is set to be converted into a school for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

The local authority voted to close its Westfields base in Sandbach in November, and has been looking at plans for the building's future.

It has now said its preferred option is to use the site as a SEND free school, which would be funded by the Department for Education.

The council, which has faced financial pressures particularly around special needs funding in recent years, said using the site would provide extra provision in the borough.

Cheshire East Council said the pressures were linked to a rise in the number of children needing support.

It currently has a deficit of its Dedicated Schools Grant, which is ring-fenced for schools and includes SEND funding.

At the end of the last financial year, it had a deficit of £78.6m - and this forecast to increase by £43m by the end of the current year.

This has led to a rise in borrowing costs for the authority.

Cheshire East Council had been looking at options for the future of Westfields

Westfields opened in 2008 as the headquarters of the then-Congleton Borough Council, before it became part of Cheshire East when the authority was formed in 2009.

Cheshire East Council is in the process of relocating from the building, with its main offices becoming its sites in Crewe and Macclesfield.

Councillor Carol Bulman, chair of Cheshire East Council’s children and families committee, said: "Every child is entitled to an education that they can access; they should get the right support, at the right place, at the right time.

"Our vision for children and young people with SEND is the same as for all children and young people - that they achieve well in all aspects of their lives and are happy, fulfilled and play an active role in their communities."