PLANS have been put forward to transform a luxury hotel into a new school in the Thornbury area.

Education provider Witherslack Group has submitted plans to open an SEN school at boutique hotel and conference centre Old Church Farm in Rudgeway.

If approved, the school would be open to 50 pupils aged five to 12 with a range of complex learning needs.

In planning documents, the applicant says the current hotel owners want to ‘wind-down’ their existing operations.

The hotel, which has eight rooms, was previously owned by Rolls-Royce until 2017 and has been recognised as an AA 5 Star luxury accommodation for six years running.

The change of use application was submitted to South Gloucestershire Council last week.

According to the application, the school would operate from 8am to 6pm between Monday to Friday with pupils attending between 8.30am to 3.30pm.

It is believed 40 full-time jobs could be created if plans are approved.

It comes as the same applicant opened a new SEN school known as Castlefell School also in Rudgeway off the A38 earlier this year in April.

Other proposals include installing fencing and gates, putting in a MUGA, creating five new bike spaces plus extending the existing car park to 45 spaces including eight EV charging points.

In addition, a bungalow on the site would be demolished and replaced with a single-storey teaching block.

Other proposed works also include installing a hardstanding play area and an educational kitchen garden with raised beds and fruit trees.

The applicant says pupils would include children with social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) difficulties, ADHD, speech, language and communication difficulties and attachment disorders.

The historic Old Church Farm was originally known as Alveston Manor, and dates back to the 17th century.

The proposed site is 1.9 acres in size and also is home to the ruins of St Helen’s Church - which is unaffected by the plans.

A planning document reads: “Due to the unprecedented demand, we now seek to open an additional school within close proximity to enable us to increase capacity.

"The application site was brought to our attention with the current owner seeking to wind-down their existing hotel operations.”

“As part of this application, the proposed new school at Old Church Farm would cater for 50 primary school pupils, allowing the existing Castlefell site to be dedicated to secondary school pupils only.

“In addition, the school would allow for further employment opportunities, supporting approximately 40 jobs.

“This planning application therefore provides an exciting opportunity to create additional much needed SEN school places in South Gloucestershire offering pupils with a range of excellent facilities and an educational experience set within a beautiful and relaxing rural setting.”

You can view the application quoting P24/01863/F or see here - tinyurl.com/2j8yvyk9

According to a report by SGC, based on data from 2017, 6,111 school children have SEND in the district - 3.2 per cent of the school population.

This figure is higher than the national average at 2.8 per cent of the rest of England.

The planning application comes after independent SEND school the Sheiling School closed in July.

Meanwhile, Two Bridges Academy next to Marlwood School in Alveston is due to open in September 2024.