Property briefs: James’ Places; Conlon Construction; Salford University

JAMES’ Places the company behind several of Ribble Valley pubs and hotels, including The Emporium Clitheroe and Mitton Hall in Whalley, has acquired The Falcon Manor Hotel, Settle.

The Grade II-listed building has 14-beds and has been run on a bed and breakfast basis in recent years.

James Warburton, the owner of James’ Places, is keen to reposition the hotel as a wedding and function venue.

He said: “It seems to have taken a long time to get the keys this time but that could just be down to how excited we are about adding such a fabulous building to our collection. The plan is to open as usual for the next few weeks and to explore every nook and cranny of the place before we close in early September for a top to bottom refurbishment and restoration.

“We hope to launch the new- look Falcon Manor early in the new year as a destination bar and restaurant, with 14 brilliant bedrooms and a wedding venue beyond compare. We are not sure exactly how it’s going to turn out yet but looking at what we have got as a starting point then we are sure it’s going to be something special.”

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CONLON Construction has been awarded a £5m project to refurbish and extend the former Ashton Community Science College on Ribbleton Hall Drive as a new campus for Sir Tom Finney Community School in Preston.
 
Working for Lancashire County Council to deliver the project, the Preston-based contractor will be responsible for the refurbishment of the existing school building along with a single-storey extension.

Designed to accommodate 140 pupils with special educational needs (SEN), Sir Tom Finney School was officially opened by the late football legend at its Moor Park site in 2008.

Chairman Michael Conlon said: “We will be delivering this scheme to a tight programme completing in March 2015 to ensure that pupils from Sir Tom Finney School can benefit from the new facilities as soon as possible. SEN environments require close attention to detail to ensure that they fulfil the school’s aim of meeting the diverse needs of a wide variety of learners in a safe environment with flexible space that can be adapted to meet individual needs.
 
“At Conlon, we have the experience to answer those requirements by remodelling an existing building and enhancing it with new-build accommodation.”

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THE University of Salford’s new £81m student campus development has topped out.
 
Graham Construction has completed the steel frameworks at the University’s Peel Park campus, which will add 1,367 new bedrooms. The facility consists of nine blocks across two separate sites, ranging from five to nine storeys.
 
Graham started work on the project in November 2013 as part of the Salford Villages Consortium, which includes Graham Investment Projects, Campus Living Villages, Equitix and Kier Project Investment, who have jointly invested and developed the property with the project finance being provided by Standard Life Investments.
 
Chairman Michael Graham said: “This is a significant development and our teams have worked hard, alongside all project partners, to ensure this initial phase was completed ahead of schedule. This is a great achievement for both the site teams and also the stakeholder partners, demonstrating that a collaborative approach can work wonders. The site is really taking shape now and will deliver an outstanding new facility to the University of Salford when it is completed next year.”