A REDDITCH school is set to be relocated to a brand new, bigger site pending final approval from the Secretary of State.
The plans to move Holyoakes First School from Bridge Street to Brockhill East were unanimously given the go-ahead by councillors at a Worcestershire County Council Planning Committee on Wednesday (September 21) and are now waiting for Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to give the green belt location the green light.
The new site will about a mile away, but is still within the same catchment area and is intended to provide more space for staff and students.
Coun Robin Lunn said: “The new school has been designed to comfortably cope with growing numbers of pupils and will have great facilities for the whole community to access.
“We know that Brockhill is expanding all the time, and the capacity is already too much for the current school site.
“We commend headteacher Carol Newton and her staff for the excellent way they have educated children in the aging school building and for dealing so well with the many logistical difficulties they encounter, but to expect the 100 year old building to cater for this for much longer is unfair to the Head, her staff, parents and most of all the children being educated.”
“I am a great believer that with housing must come infrastructure, and this is why I urge the committee to grant permission to the new school building which is so desperately desired and required.”
With a larger capacity for five to nine year-olds as well as an adjoining nursery, the plans for the school drawn for Holyoakes include a lot of green outdoor space, larger classrooms and a multi-purpose hall for students and the community to use.
The work on the new school is hoped to be completed by the spring of 2018, and plans for the existing site once the school moves are expected to be made next year, following consultations with local residents and Councillors.
School Head, Carol Newton said: “We love our current building, but it is just not suitable for modern life and modern students.
“We have been waiting a long time for these plans and the whole school are very excited about the move and the opportunities the new building will offer.
“We will have the same ethos and vision, but in a lovely new building.”
Coun Marc Bayliss, Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Children and Families said: “The conditional approval of this planning proposal is excellent news for local families.
“With new housing developments progressing well, the demand for school places in Worcestershire is greater than ever, and it is hugely important that we meet this demand. This proposed development will help us to ensure that all children in Worcestershire have access to local schools.”
The full application can be found at http://tinyurl.com/h2fg6h2
