A new special education needs and disability (SEND) school has been approved to be built in North Somerset. The school will be built on land west of Ladymead Lane in Langford.
The plans for the school, which will be known as Lime Hills Academy, were approved by North Somerset Council earlier this month. Initial plans were submitted in December 2022 and adapted as comments were received, with the final documents before the decision submitted in October.
Lime Hills Academy will be a two-storey SEND school containing specially designed teaching rooms, dining and sports halls, and a multi use games area. There will also be outdoor dining and social spaces, playing pitches and as part of the works, an on-site car park will be created.
The planning statement says the school will accommodate 65 pupils aged between five and 16 years old and will address the shortage of school places in SEND schools across the region. The statement added: “A lack of SEND school facilities both locally and nationally often means that children in need of such facilities are either educated in mainstream education, are educated in independent facilities, or parents or guardians are forced to home-school where no alternative provision is available.”
“North Somerset Council has determined that there is a pressing need for new SEND schools, in particular the SEMH provision, as proposed. The Council has a current shortfall of 180 SEND spaces, which will rise to 200 places by 2027.”
The site currently is an unutilised field which is largely open, formerly used in agriculture. It is located next to the junction of Lanymead Lane and Pudding Pie Lane. When the school is built, it will support children who live with social, emotional and mental health needs.
The school will hire 65 full-time staff members who will help the 65 pupils at the school. There will be enough car parking for staff and visitors, and there will also be covered cycle parking for 20 bikes.
Outside of school hours, the school will be available for community use, including for the Churchill CofE Primary School, who are based nearby. The planning permission will allow developers to undertake landscaping of the site to make it more suitable for pupils with SEND.
The planning permission has listed 24 conditions which the development will need to satisfy. This includes starting the development of the school within three years of it being granted.
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