Work starts on Cheshire specialist education facility

Eric Wright Construction has started the building and fit out of a £22M college building for Seashell Trust in Cheadle Hulme, Cheshire, which will deliver specialist education facilities for students aged 16-25.

The new building, for Royal College Manchester, is made up of a reception and specialist classrooms along with sports and administration facilities.

The building will also incorporate a café, activity hall with extended climbing wall, fitness suite, rebound room, sensory integration room and a suite of flexible multi-purpose rooms at ground floor level, with office space above. The building will provide twelve new classrooms and six individual teaching spaces.

Seashell provides support for young people with complex disabilities and communication needs. The specially equipped college building is designed to enable staff and students to move about with the minimum of restriction. It replaces an existing building which was deemed to be not fit for purpose.

Brandon Leigh, Chief Executive at Seashell, said: “Watching the building finally start to take shape is exciting and we can’t wait to see students and staff enjoying the building very soon. The new college build will mean better accessibility for students and will be much better at meeting the needs of the young adults with complex disabilities who come to Seashell. Seeing the building complete will be a monumental point in our history!”

The building is expected to be complete in autumn 2025.