Delivery Strategy for education provision for the Elton Reservoir and Walshaw areas of Bury

Following its adoption on 21 March 2024, the Places for Everyone Joint Development Plan (PfE) became a key part of Bury’s statutory development plan alongside the saved policies of the Unitary Development Plan (UDP) and the Greater Manchester Joint Minerals and Waste Plans. The Council is currently progressing a new Local Plan which, once adopted, will replace the saved policies of the Bury UDP.
PfE is a long-term plan of nine Greater Manchester districts (Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan) for jobs, new homes, and sustainable growth. One of the key purposes of PfE is to identify the amount of new development needed across the nine districts and strategic site allocations that would help to meet these needs. This includes strategic site allocations for housing in Bury at Elton Reservoir (PfE Policy JPA7) and Walshaw (PfE Policy JPA9). There are also cross-boundary allocations at the Northern Gateway where the Council are working jointly with Rochdale Council on these sites.
The Walshaw site is allocated for housing under PfE Policy JPA9 and will deliver approximately 1,250 homes. Policy JPA9, states that development in this allocation will be required to make provision for a new one-form entry primary school and make financial contributions for off-site additional secondary school provision to meet needs generated by the development in accordance with Policy JP-P5.
The Elton Reservoir site is allocated for housing under PfE Policy JPA7 and will deliver approximately 3,500 homes. Policy JPA7, states that development in this allocation will be required to make provision for two new two-form entry primary schools to meet needs generated by the development, in accordance with policy JP-P5. In addition, criterion 5 requires provision for a new secondary school or, in the event that secondary school provision is delivered in an alternative way, make a financial contribution towards secondary school provision to meet needs generated by the development, in accordance with policy JP-P5.
Officers are therefore keen to seek the views of any interested parties on how they would develop a Delivery Strategy for education provision for the Elton Reservoir and Walshaw allocations, taking account of any existing provision in the areas. The Council requires the Delivery Strategy to provide a robust and defensible evidence base which sets out the most appropriate approach for the provision of proposed primary school places generated by the allocations. The outputs from this appraisal will inform a decision on the preferred approach for the provision of primary school places.
This will then help the Council shape its invitation to bid documentation and make it attractive to the potential market of bidders. At this stage there is no commitment of any kind by the Council or the organisations that contact us and we would like to stress that our discussions will be informal and confidential.
A draft briefing document ( Appendix A) has been prepared which provides further background information and sets out the Council's suggested approach for the development of the Delivery Strategy. The draft brief has been appended to this notice.
Any party not expressing an interest at this stage will not be precluded from submitting a bid at the tender stage.
Following the conclusion of these discussions we anticipate that an opportunity inviting bids including the details of the information required from bidders along with the deadline for submissions will be issued as soon as it is practical to do so.
To arrange a discussion, please complete an interview request form shown as the Appendix B attachment on The Chest opportunity and submit it to coporateprocurement@bury.gov.uk
We will then contact you to arrange a meeting which will take place in week commencing Monday 20th January 2025 at a location to be confirmed once an interest has been registered.
Please do not express an interest in this notice as they will not be actioned.