New SEND school in Green Belt approved
A new Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) school within the existing grounds of Marlwood School in Alveston has been approved by South Gloucestershire Council. This follows confirmation from the Secretary of State that the development, which is situated in the Green Belt and comprised playing field land, did not need to be ‘called-in’.
The proposals were developed in conjunction with South Gloucestershire Council Local Education Authority; the Department for Education, who will fund and deliver the school as part of the Free Schools Programme; and Enable Trust, an expert local special school operator who will run the new school. The development will provide a new 112 place SEND school for children aged 2-19 with Severe learning difficulties (SLD)/ Autistic-spectrum disorder (ASD) and Profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD). This ‘single route’ model that takes pupils through their entire school period brings significant benefits to children and their families as well as a financially sustainable model of school organisation.
Due to the site being located in Green Belt land and not falling within any of the permitted exceptions, CSJ Planning presented a case for ‘very special circumstances’ that demonstrated the educational need for the SEND school in this locational was fully justified and a robust site assessment had been completed with this site the only suitable and available one for the project. Furthermore, as the site comprised an area of Marlwood School’s playing field the planning submission confirmed that this particular area was surplus to requirements with the remaining school playing field capable of fulfilling Marlwood’s sports curriculum.
Despite these contentious land use planning policy constraints, there was only one objection to the proposed development. This is testament to the high levels of pre-application publicity and community engagement undertaken by the applicant which provided the opportunity to fully explain the proposals, the evidenced need for the new school and the reasoning behind the site selection.
With planning permission now granted, construction is due to commence in early 2022 with the new school’s planned opening in September 2023. When completed this school will play an important part in helping South Gloucestershire Council to deliver special education provision and reduce its reliance on out of authority provision. It will also bring significant benefit to local children and families who would otherwise be transported to attend specialist provision in other Local Authority areas and at some distance from their home.
