Campus Whitehaven replaces two previous school buildings with state-of-the-art facilities for St Benedict’s and Mayfield Schools within one campus.
Campus Whitehaven was a £30 million education and activity hub development in Cumbria that brought together St Benedict’s Catholic High School and Mayfield School on a single, purpose-built campus. The project replaced two former school sites with modern facilities and enhanced sports provision for both school and community use.
Stephenson Halliday was appointed to guide the planning strategy and support the delivery of the project. Our planning team worked with the design and delivery team to ensure that consents were secured in a timely fashion to meet the funding protocols and the schools’ opening dates. Working closely with Wates Construction Ltd and Iteriad, the wider design team, our practice led the planning application process, coordinated specialist inputs and managed public consultation. Sensitive issues, including the perceived loss of playing fields, flood risk and Public Rights of Way, were addressed through early engagement and negotiation with Cumbria County Council and statutory consultees, including Sport England. Planning permission was secured at committee in December 2019 following unanimous approval.
Post-consent, Stephenson Halliday continued to support the scheme through value engineering, discharge of planning conditions and the submission of a Section 73 application to accommodate design refinements, which was approved in 2021. The completed development included new access arrangements, car parking and high-quality sports facilities and was subsequently recognised with the Best Building Project of the Year – Civils award at the North West Regional Construction Awards.