Bulldozers move in on Stafford's former Brooklands School

The former Brooklands School in Eccleshall Road will make way for 51 apartments.

Plans were approved by Stafford Borough Council last year.

Fifty six pupils had to find a new school after Brooklands shut and the building was put up for sale just a few months after it closed its doors for the last time back in 2013.

The new development will include a resident's lounge, restaurant, hair salon, mobility scooter store and activity room.

There are also plans for two rooms for staff to provide care, a spa therapy room and landscaped garden.

There will be a maximum of nine staff on site.

Councillor Bryan Cross MBE, who represents the Holmcroft ward, said he was 'sad' to see the school building go, but 'pleased' that something of use would be taking its place.

He said: "The Brooklands School building is quite well known in the area and it was obviously a shame that the school had to close.

"The application for retirement apartments came in and was accepted, which I think was the right thing to do.

"I think there is a need for these retirement facilities in Stafford, we have an ageing population here.

"I am pleased that the former school site is being transformed into something useful, otherwise it would just become derelict and vandalised."

The Eccleshall Road preparatory school, which had been in Stafford since 1946, closed suddenly in September 2013.

When the school closed governors blamed falling pupil numbers, with the recession hitting parents' ability to pay fees.

The cost for each pupil to attend ranged from £4,830 to £9,750 per year.

The school first ran into financial difficulties in 2009.

Nearby St Bede's School at Bishton Hall stepped in to offer all 56 pupils from Brooklands a place and a total of 21 staff members at Brooklands were made redundant.

Plans to transform the site into apartments were given the go ahead last August despite concerns being raised by Stafford MP Jeremy Lefroy over the loss of historic buildings.