Green light given for new specialist school site
Headteacher says she is “absolutely delighted”
A NEW £5 million specialist school is to be built in Hinckley after councillors gave the go-ahead.
Dorothy Goodman School will build a new upper school on a greenfield site near the junction of Barwell Lane and Harwood Drive.
Headteacher Thompson said Janet she is “absolutely delighted” the plans were given the green light.
The centre will allow the school to accommodate up to 100 students aged from 11 to 19, with the possibility of expanding the age range to 25 at a later date.
Currently the upper school, on Middlefield Lane, caters for 68 people aged 14 to 19 and has “insufficient space” and “extremely limited” facilities, Mrs Thompson said.
The new site will include a multi-use games facility, an outdoor sports pitch and modern facilities which would provide an “excellent secondary education”, she added.
Mrs Thompson said: “We are absolutely delighted to have the go ahead for the new purpose built school.
“The new building will provide pupils with the facilities they deserve and will help us provide them with an excellent secondary education.
“There will be specialist rooms and space enough for the children to move around the building independently.
“We are continuing to fundraise to provide extraspecialist resources and to help develop the grounds to provide specialists sports areas for the pupils as well as good natural habitats for wildlife and plants.”
The building will be built on private land opposite Swallows Green, which was previously earmarked for community use
More than 90 letters of objection were received from members of the public, while 67 were in favour of the plans.
Swallows Green Action Group, which has more than 60 members, was set up earlier in the year by residents living nearby to fight the plans.
They are concerned the new site will cause traffic congestion, noise, parking problems, damage wildlife, affect the privacy of nearby homes and impact on the environment, to name a few.
The plans were amended to move the building, service road and noiser activities such as the school hall further away from properties on Harwood Drive which, a council report said, will minimise noise and light pollution, as well as retain open space and existing greenery,
The site will include a 55-space car park, with room for 14 mini buses and 20 bicycles.
The school said it will implement a “green travel plan” to encourage staff to cycle or walk to work in a bid to reduce the impact on rush-hour traffic.
It will also install pick up and drop off zones to further minimise congestion.
A council report said the “community benefits outweigh the loss of a small section of the green wedge” and recommended it should be given the green light.