Houlton School Wins 2022 Planning Award

Houlton School has won the award for best use of heritage in placemaking at the Planning Awards 2022. DLA are delighted that the ambitious scheme, to transform the Grade II listed Rugby Radio Station into a secondary school at the heart of the new community of Houlton, has been recognised by the industry. The school has breathed new life into the building, securing its future as a state-of-the-art education facility, and was delivered by an innovative partnership with the DfE, Historic England, Transforming Lives Educational Trust (TLET), LocatED, Rugby Borough Council and Warwickshire County Council. DLA led the planning of this complex development through a series of enabling works, infrastructure and main works reserved matters, listed building, discharge of condition, S73 and advertisement consent applications, that facilitated the delivery of the school and its opening in September 2021. The scheme was described by judges as "a wonderful transformation of a challenging building. The results are outstanding – quirky and functional at the same time.”