A bit of Waterloo Road history will soon be no more

A former school which appeared in episodes of BBC drama Waterloo Road could be demolished under new plans by Salford council.

St Ambrose Barlow Roman Catholic High School was based on Shaftesbury Road in Swinton but moved to new premises in Wardley more than 13 years ago, leaving its old buildings empty.

The Shaftesbury Road site could soon be developed by the council to help ‘meet the demand for high quality family and affordable homes’ in the area.

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The buildings have been earmarked for residential development as part of the council's ‘wider regeneration ambitions’ for the area.

The former school site has featured in Waterloo Road since the show was rebooted in 2022.

But since St Ambrose Barlow left the site, the school buildings have been left in a ‘poor state’ according to the council’s planning application, which states that they are a regular target for anti-social behaviour.

The site would be demolished under the plans to make way for new homes on the land, with surveys needed to identify the presence of any asbestos in the buildings before work begins.

Salford council was awarded £1.6m of brownfield land funding in October which it plans to spend on the works, with demolition scheduled to begin in April next year.

Coun Jack Youd, Salford’s deputy city mayor, said: “The award of the money after our bid is great news for Swinton.

“Council officers are now working to secure a demolition contract, which needs to be in place by the end of March 2025 to meet the funding requirements.”

Salford Mayor Paul Dennett said at the start of the year that the city is in a housing “crisis” with growing numbers of people struggling to afford a home.

Since then, the council has announced measures to improve access to housing, including plans to build up to 600 new council homes over the current mayoral term until 2028.