Planners poised to reject special educational needs free school

HOPES OF setting up a free school for children with special educational needs in an “unspoilt” East Yorkshire hamlet could be dashed at a planning meeting next week in the face of fierce opposition.

Lisa Taylor is proposing to open Hope Bridge School for up to 30 children, aged five to 16, in the village hall at Ryehill, a small settlement, east of Hull – an area where there is a “distinct lack” of provision.

East Riding Council acknowledges that there is demand for places, but planning officers are recommending refusal of proposals.

Villagers are up in arms about the plans, which they say will prevent the hall and its grounds being freely available for the community and will see perimeter fencing go up, which will make it look more like “a Second World War prison camp than a school”.

The proposals which cover an area of 4,600 square yards (3,850 square metres), includes building a modular building for four classrooms, at the back of the village hall, and parking for 17 cars.

Although the village only numbers around 15 houses, there have been 70 objections against 28 expressions of support. One wrote to say the land and hall had been donated by a group of farmers and was never intended for private development.

Despite reassurances that all bookings could continue, one objector said there was still a question mark over whether people wanting to go to coffee mornings, indoor bowls or yoga “would be subject to an advanced DBS (disclosure and barring service) check”.

Another stated: “The land was given to the residents of Ryehill and the trustees must act in accordance with the wishes of those residents and in the maintenance of the purpose for which the land was given. The proposals will dramatically reduce the green space and the free access to it.”

The applicants argue that they are trying to provide a service where there is a “distinct lack of SEN (special educational needs) provision, which is having a detrimental impact on the education and support of our children and young people.”

Children from Holderness villages are having to endure long journeys to Goole and Market Weighton and the tranquil setting in Ryehill would be “highly conducive” to their needs. Thorngumbald, Camerton and Ryehill parish council, the sole trustee of the village hall, say they have subsidised it for years, and back the application for the not-for-profit school.

“If approved it will increase the annual income by £10,000 per year, this money would be invested back into the hall to ensure its future, without this proposed income the hall is unlikely to be sustainable,” a letter to planners stated.

And they added that if it goes through “the future of the hall will be secured for future generations.”

However planners say the plans, to be discussed at County Hall, Beverley on Monday, will result in “unacceptable increased built form and urbanisation” and a “significant increase in traffic noise and disturbance on a daily basis”. Commenting on claims by objectors that parish councillors are associated with the company making the application they say “these are matters for the local community to take up with the parish council and cannot influence the outcome of the planning application”.

If approved the future of the hall will be secured for future generations. Thorngumbald, Camerton and Ryehill Parish Council.