THE empty Radcliffe Riverside High School is set to be "brought back to life" as a centre for pupils who cannot be taught in mainstream schools.

Council education bosses have submitted plans to use the school in Spring Lane, which closed last summer, as the borough's pupil learning centre (PLC).

The authority has decided to move the borough’s current PLC at New Summerseat House to the Riverside site because the building in Summerseat is a listed building and cannot be developed.

A new development, set to open this September, will provide full-time education for pupils aged 11 to 16 who need extra emotional and social support and whose needs cannot be met in mainstream schools.

The outreach centre currently located at Park House in Chesham will also be moved to Radcliffe – providing assistance to help problem pupils remain in the mainstream system.

The plans involve refurbishing part of the former school and building a 117 square metre single-storey extension for a new entrance, offices, disabled toilet and meeting room.

There will also be new separating walls, toilets, doors, specialist teaching facilities, a new plant room and better roof insulation and energy-efficient heating and lighting.

There will also be additional rooflights and sun tubes to “increase natural light levels for an improved sense of well-being”.

Two new disabled parking spaces will be created outside the building, which will be in use between 8am and 6pm, Monday to Friday.

Bury Council bosses believe developing the school will “considerably extend the useful life of the building” and will prevent vandalism.

The design and access report stated that the decision to move the centre came after “prolonged and careful consideration of educational needs in the borough” and “a desire to rationalise building assets in light of economic pressures”.

It added: “This proposal aims to address an urgent need for Children’s Services to provide sufficient accommodation replacing the existing centre at Summerseat, which is not designed as a school establishment and cannot meet curriculum requirements for pupil’s education.”

A spokesman for Bury Council said: “The new accommodation will provide a range of general and specialist teaching spaces in order for students placed in the Pupil Referral Unit to access a full curriculum.

"It is anticipated that the new facilities will be open at the beginning of the autumn term 2015.”

The school, built in the early 1970s as Coney Green Technology School, was merged with Radcliffe High School in 2003 to create Radcliffe Riverside.

It is also the site of a £1.1 million temporary public swimming pool set to open next month.

Consultation on the application will run until March 21, with Bury Council’s Planning Control Committee aiming to make a decision by April 23.