Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Plans revealed for £10m school to support homes
Plans have been unveiled for a new primary school with up to 420 places for youngsters. The £9.9 million project at the new Cockering Farm development site in Canterbury is to help cope with demand from 1,150 new homes being built nearby.
Kent County Council (KCC) has revealed the proposals and is searching for an academy sponsor for the school in the Thanington area of the city.
The authority says the twoform entry school is being created to “meet the demand for places from new housing developments in the vicinity”.
It has been secured through the section 106 agreement, which is a contract between a council and a developer as part of granting planning permission.
A KCC document states: “The school will meet the need for additional primary school places arising from new housing on this site and the surrounding area and will reduce the impact on the road system in the immediate area.
“The three main developments in Thanington will produce a total of 1,150 new homes. “These developments would be expected to generate 322 primary pupils.”
The Cockering Farm development was given the green light by the city council in 2018 and will be spread across former farmland between the A28, Milton Manor Road and Cockering Road.
Also nearby is the 750-home Saxon Fields and an environment screening application
has been submitted to bulldoze six-bedroom Milton Manor House to make way for 100 homes.
It is envisaged the new primary school will provide 420 places for pupils aged four to 11 and is anticipated to open in September 2025.
The school will initially open as one-form entry with 30 pupils in reception with as younger pupils joining each year and following them through the school. The KCC papers added: “The second reception class will open at a future date as the housing development expands and houses are occupied. “This phased approach is to ensure that there are not too many primary school places in Canterbury and that additional places are brought forward as demand increases.”
A six-week community consultation ran from November 7 to December 19.
In order to launch the new primary school, KCC has to seek potential sponsors to run it.
It is proposed the project will be delivered in two phases in response to demand for school places in the area.
The first phase will include seven classrooms and a nursery class - plus core facilities for the school, such as a hall.
And the second phase will include the second-form entry of classrooms, which is a further seven and accompanying facilities.
Developer contributions totalling £6.4m have been requested and it is estimated KCC will provide £3.5m. These amounts are subject to further decision making once costs are established.