Homes planned for former Wolverhampton school

The Northicote School in Bushbury is expected to be bulldozed next year, freeing up the land for housing developers.

The school closed following a merger with Pendeford School to form the North East Wolverhampton Academy.

The site, on Northwood Park Road, was used for a short time by Wolverhampton College students but has since been left abandoned, prompting questions from residents about what will happen to it.

It has now been revealed the city council's property arm WV Living is eyeing up the school site for the next phase of its house building programme.

But before that will happen, the Northicote School site, which has stood next to Northwood Park for decades, will have to be demolished, which has taken longer than expected to arrange.

A council report said there needed to be a more 'realistic' time frame for the demolition of the school, which is expected to cost more than £800,000.

The authority said 'complexities' with the site, including the presence of asbestos, had delayed bringing in the bulldozers.

A Wolverhampton council spokesman said “The council is currently procuring a demolition contractor for the former Northicote School.

“It is a sprawling site and there are complexities associated with the various buildings, some of which contain a limited amount of asbestos typically associated with buildings of that age.

“The land is earmarked for WV Living use as part of phase 2 of its house building programme, subject to site investigations once demolition is completed.”

It is the latest homes plan to be revealed for a former school in Wolverhampton.

A scheme for 250 homes on the arson-hit former Wednesfield High School site in Lakefield Road was backed by planners last month.