Land 'will be needed for two new schools in Andover'

The comments relate to Taylor Wimpey’s plans for up to 1,600 homes on land south of Finkley Road at Finkley, on the north-eastern side of the town.

The site is currently served by Endeavour Primary School and Winton Community Academy.

Children’s services estimate the scheme would "usually be expected to generate a total of 480 additional primary-age children and 336 additional secondary-age pupils", based on surveys of other large estates in Hampshire.

The location site for the proposed plans in Andover (Image: JTP)

The response warns that "without expansion and improvement, the local education system school will be unable to accommodate the children arising from the development" and that the impact "cannot be sufficiently mitigated" without substantial funding and school sites from the developer.

Due to the size of the project, the county says "land and funding to deliver a new 420 place, two form of entry (60 places in each year group) primary school will be sought within this development".

It expects Taylor Wimpey to provide "a cleared, fully serviced and accessible freehold site free of charge in addition to the normal level of contributions towards construction costs (including fit out, furniture, equipment and ICT)" for the school.

For a school of this size, it says "a site of at least 2 hectares of developable land would be sought" and puts the build cost at £15,740,000.

At secondary level, the response states that "land, and funding towards the provision of a new six-form of entry, 900-place (180 places in each year group) secondary school will be required, with capacity for future expansion to eight forms of entry".

A site of "at least 8.66 hectares of developable land would be sought", with a proportional cost of £17,434,667 towards a new secondary school, out of an estimated £46.7m total.

The report also flags pressure on support for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities, saying "over five per cent of pupils in Hampshire currently have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)".

It concludes that "additional SEND capacity will be required as a result of the proposed development" and seeks £2,336,000 towards this, including an estimated £730,000 for an additional classroom for up to eight SEND pupils.

In its formal recommendation, the county council, as local education authority, says it "raises no objection to the planning application" provided a legal agreement secures £15,740,000 for primary expansion, £17,434,667 for secondary provision and £2,336,000 for SEND.

It warns that without those contributions, it "would object to the proposal on the grounds that the impact on the existing infrastructure cannot be sufficiently mitigated and therefore the development is unacceptable in planning terms".

To view the report in its entirety, visit the TVBC planning portal on: 26/00912/SCRN.