RADCLIFFE residents have been reassured that a new £15m, state-of-the-art high school will not mean a loss of sports facilities in the town.

Bury Council has received Government backing for the school and will shortly appoint a project director to drive forward the plans.

The school is part of a plan to consolidate teaching in the town following the successful federation of the existing Radcliffe and Coney Green high schools.

From September, the schools will merge and eventually children will be taught on one site, which is likely to be the old East Lancs Paper Mill site in the east of the town, in 2006.

However, some residents have expressed concern that the closure of the two old school building sites will lead to the loss of sports facilities.

Paul Cooke, the council's head of schools planning and management, said: "The new school building will include significantly improved sports facilities that will be available for use by the community and a new school playing field will be provided, of a standard that allows regular use by the school and by the community.

"The two existing school playing fields are poorly drained and cannot be used throughout the year so the new school will actually provide enhanced facilities for the town."

Mr Cooke also said the council would work with a number of agencies including Sport England, to develop a masterplan for the development of recreational provision in Radcliffe to ensure there will be no loss of overall levels of provision when the two school buildings are taken out of use.

The council has recently become a Government trailblazer in a scheme to extend the role of schools in the community across a number of areas, including sport.

Although the pilot project concentrates on Broad Oak High, a co-ordinator will be appointed to expand community access to facilities in schools across the borough and Radcliffe is likely to benefit from such work.

The council's area board has also been working with residents to draw up a two-year sports strategy for Radcliffe which will take into account the closure of the existing schools and the much-needed development of a new multi-purpose site.

Meanwhile, the authority's Environment and Development Services Department has spent £33,000 to restore the running track at Cams Lane as part of its Cleaner, Safer, Greener initiative.