Hale Independent Issue 195

AUGUST 2026 4 ALTRINCHAM College has cele- brated its 60th anniversary with a year-long programme of events honouring the values that have shaped generations of students since the school first opened its doors in 1966. At the heart of the celebrations was a schoolwide effort to complete 60 Acts of Kindness - one for each year of the school’s history. Students and staff tended the com- munity garden, litter-picked in the local area, shared notes of kindness and sup- ported one another through countless small acts of generosity. The school has had several names over its six decades, beginning life as Delahays Girls’ School before becoming Green Lane High School, then Altrin- cham College of Arts, and finally the Altrincham College which it’s known as today. The anniversary year culminated with a vibrant 60s-themed festival on the school field “While our name, buildings, staff and students have changed over the past 60 years, the kindness and commu- nity spirit that define our school have remained constant,” said headteacher Andrew Keegan, “and it has been won- derful to see these values brought to life in such meaningful ways.” The anniversary year culminated this week in a vibrant 60s-themed festi- val on the school field, with inflatables, face painting and live music performed by current and former students. The site has also become an educational resource for local schools. Reception pupils from nearby Bollin Primary School visit to dig up potatoes and plant seeds, older children attend an after-school gar- dening club, and teenagers from Altrincham Grammar School have worked the land as part of their Duke of Edinburgh awards. TRAFFORD Council has completed the purchase of the former Loreto Pre- paratory School site on Dunham Road - ending years of uncertainty over the three-acre plot and securing it for the expan- sion of neighbouring North Cestrian School. The acquisition, funded by a Department for Education capital grant, will allowNorth Cestrian to add up to 300 sec- ondary school places. A feasibility study is now underway, with the first addi- tional places expected from September 2027 and the full expansion complete by Sep- tember 2028. The deal was struck by Trafford’s Development and Education teams working alongside Hamblin Edu- cation Trust, which runs North Cestrian. It draws a line under a two- year campaign that began when Loreto Prep unexpect- edly closed in July 2023, cit- ing declining pupil numbers and financial pressures. THE Britannia Ashley Hotel in Hale has officially ceased operating as asy- lum seeker accommoda- tion - and is now being prepared to reopen as a commercial hotel. The closure took effect on August 11, ending a three- year arrangement that began in February 2023 under the then-Conserva- tive government. The Home Office notified Trafford Council in April that the government contract would terminate within three months, with Immigration Minister Anna Turley con- firming the property has been permanently handed back to the community. Public room bookings are expected to go live as soon as the hotel’s reservation system is updated. The news that the Ash- ley Hotel will return to commercial use is likely to prove unwelcome to many local residents, for whom the site became a focal point of community tension during its three years as migrant accommodation. Protests were held out- side the hotel, and last October a convicted paedo- phile wanted by German authorities was arrested at the site by National Crime Agency officers. Altrincham and Sale West MP Connor Rand had wel- comed the closure when it was first announced in April: “Using hotels to house asylum seekers is a sign of a broken system. It’s bad for taxpayers, bad for community cohesion and bad for the people seek- ing asylum.” The Ashley Hotel is one of 13 hotels confirmed by the government as no longer being used to house asylum seekers, saving taxpayers an estimated £51 million. The total number of hotels used for this purpose has now fallen to below 160, down from a peak of around 400 under the Conservatives. ImmigrationMinister Anna Turley said: “For too long, com- munities have watched hotels at the centre of their towns and cities become symbols of a bro- ken asylum system. “We are turning that around by ending the use of asylum hotels for good and moving people into larger, basic accommodation like former military sites.” The closure leaves the Cresta Court in Altrincham town centre as the sole remaining local hotel housing asylum seekers. The Cresta Court has been closed to the public since October 2024 and is believed to accommodate up to 300 people. Connor Rand has said the government is committed to closing the Cresta Court as well. Phil Anderson and Jane Tyler, members of the Bowdon Allotment and Garden Society (Image: Supplied) Allotment growers donate produce to local residents Council buys Loreto site Migrant hotel officially closes 60s theme marks College anniversary SURPLUS fruit and vegetables grown at a Bowdon allotment site are being handed out to local residents thanks toapart- nership between plot holders and a nearby church. Members of the Bowdon Allotment and Garden Society, which runs the Council-owned site at Vicarage Lane, donate their extra produce each week - including courgettes, rhu- barb, apples, pears, cabbages, squash, potatoes, carrots and runner beans. Volunteers at St Luke’s Church then collect and dis- tribute it to people in the community, with a focus on those on lower incomes. Phil Anderson, Chair of the BowdonAllotment andGarden Society, said:“We have 60 plots here and there is a waiting list, so for the last few years we’ve really thought about how we can open our allotments up for the enjoyment and benefit of as many people as possible, regardless of whether theyhave their ownplot. “During the summer months our members find themselveswithextra fruit and vegetables, so we linked up with the church to share them with people on lower incomes, including elderly residents who particularly enjoy tradi- tional fare suchas rhubarband runner beans.”