New £16.5 million school in Gloucestershire gets go-ahead

The new school for 200 pupils will be built at The Wheatridge East in Abbeydale, Gloucester, and includes outdoor informal play areas and car parking.

Planning officers said the need for the school, which is in the parish of Upton St Leonards, outweighs any perceived impact from the development.

The school building will be partly two-storey and partly single-storey and arranged in a U-shaped plan.

Vehicular and pedestrian access to the school will be from The Wheatbridge East via the 9m gap between houses.

Most pupils are expected to be taken to school daily by taxi and minibus.

The site will accommodate three minibus spaces, five disabled persons parking bays and four visitor parking bays provided near the main entrance.

On-site parking, which will mainly cater for staff use, includes 75 car parking spaces, three motorcycle spaces and 32 cycle parking spaces.

An emergency double-gated alternative access or exit is also planned onto the bridleway The Ash Path, as a safety requirement.

Some 14 people objected to the proposal along with the parish council who raised highways concerns while some 15 people wrote in support of the scheme.

Trevina Beer, who spoke on behalf of 100 Abbeydale residents, expressed the many concerns they have about the proposals at Gloucestershire County Council’s planning committee meeting at Shire Hall on November 21.

She raised concerns that the new school would lead to more than 400 vehicle movements during the day and that the field is not an appropriate site.

“The plans for the school development have just one entrance off a small local road, the Wheatridge East,” she said.

“The only entrance would be just 90 metres away from the T-junction to the Wheatway.

"This is a main road access area for this residential area.

"The road is also the main public bus route for the area.

“The entrance would be adjacent to and opposite residential properties, all of which have driveways which require access.

“This area is already affected by traffic issues from Herron’s School, which is just 500 metres away, and there are another five schools within a mile of sight.

“Given the number of vehicles that will be leaving the site at the same time, this will result in severe congestion with vehicles queuing to join the Wheatway, which is already a busy road.

“Combine this with the potential for school staff parking off-site causing a nuisance locally, the road to the school will quickly become compromised with parked vehicles, which further impacts the access to the adjacent homes and housing estates.

“With no alternative parking for visitors in this residential area, it would not be suitable to restrict any parking to help alleviate this traffic flow.

“It is also worth noting that due to the narrow roads, buses training in and out of this junction on the regs had to swing out and use both sides of the road.

“For this reason, traffic is a major concern for the local people.

"The school will also negatively change the amenity of the area.

“The green space makes a positive contribution to the appearance of the area and improves the quality of the life of the people living and working in the locality.”

Mike Peters, senior education leader with Reach South Academy Trust, told councillors how the trust runs primary, secondary and special schools in the South West.

The trust has been appointed to run the new school and has worked with GCC to ensure it meets the needs of the county and its young people, he said.

“Our schools work closely with local communities, and we have a strong track record in school improvement, serving some of the most disadvantaged pupils in the region.

"Over time, this school will have up to 200 pupils with special educational needs (SEN).

“With a rapidly growing number of children with SEN in Gloucestershire, this provision is absolutely essential.

"Without it, the county’s needs will not be met and the cost to you will continue to grow at an unsustainable rate.”

Helen Bond, director for Gloucestershire Parent Carer Forum, said it hears from families who are waiting too long for a school place for their children.

She said there are currently more than 6,000 children with education, health and care plans in Gloucestershire.

“Our members tell us that their children are waiting too long for a school place to be identified and that they’re in a holding pattern in mainstream school,” she said.

“Increasingly we hear that children are placed on part-time timetables, perhaps an hour a day, that they may be frequently withdrawn from the classroom and that families are expected to pick up their child at short notice.

“What any parent wants is for their children to receive an education suitable for them close to where they live, and that is what this school represents.”

Gareth Vine, SEN Development Manager at Gloucestershire County Council, said the council has identified that they need at least an additional 400 special school places to be provided by the end of the decade.

“The existing schools that we do have, there’s very limited scope to actually try and provide additional capacity,” he said.

“So in July 2023, Gloucestershire County Council’s cabinet approved the establishment of a new 200-place special school on this site.

"Securing planning approval to deliver the new school is the next key milestone to achieving this goal.”

Councillor Andrew Gravells (Conservative), who represents the Abbey division at Shire Hall, said he did not agree with the objectors’ point of view.

He said he has had sleepless nights over the proposals and said he wanted to make sure he did the right thing for the overall benefit of the area and not one sectional interest.

“I live two streets away from this site and I’ve lived there for over 25 years and been its county councillor for all of that time.

"So I do feel that I know this area where Trevina lives and the other people live pretty well.

“I’ve lived there for 25 years and been part of the community.

"And this site has been earmarked for a school for much longer than that even.

“So nobody at all in this part of Gloucester can claim or allege that they never knew this site was earmarked for school.

“For me this morning, it’s not a case of a school at any cost, definitely not, and that is why I was very opposed to the plans for a new school on this site put forward by another trust for this site some time ago.

“And I’ve looked at this application very carefully and right from the start of this application, I welcomed the idea of a smaller SEN school being located here.

“It was only after I’d had lots of meetings with local people, with the construction company, the architects and everyone here at the county council that I finally made my mind up to support this application, whereas the previous scheme I was absolutely opposed to.

"Gloucestershire is crying out for more schools which will cater for children with special needs.”

Councillor Bernie Fisher (Liberal Democrats, St Paul’s and Swindon) said the 'well-thought-out' proposals should be supported.

He said: “It’s not perfect, but nothing is. This is a really good step for Gloucestershire.”

Councillor Andrew Miller (Conservative, Tuffley) said he could not vote against the plans but was concerned about the comments on traffic from residents and the parish council.

While Councillor Pam Tracey (Conservative, Westgate and Hempsted) said it was a busy road and she was worried about the open space being lost.

“People will park outside the school, it’s only natural.

"The houses around there are so tightly packed.

"I feel sorry for them all.”

And Councillor Chris McFarling (Green Party, Tidenham) accepted effort had been made to reduce carbon emissions from the site but raised concerns over the loss of wildlife and habitat space.

He said there was a desperate need for SEN school places but said the green spaces provides wellbeing benefits for residents.

He proposed approving the application.

This was seconded by Cllr Robert Vines (Conservative, Brockworth).

A condition to restrict construction deliveries and removal of materials to and from the site on weekdays between 8am and 9am and 3pm to 4pm suggested by Councillor Emma Nelson was accepted.

The committee voted to grant Gloucestershire County Council permission to go ahead with plans for the new school by nine votes with two abstentions.