School's plan for 450 more places gets green light

A plan to expand a secondary school and allow it to accept hundreds of extra pupils has been granted permission.

It took the strategic planning committee of Wiltshire Council less than 20 minutes to give its unanimous support for the expansion of Abbeyfield School.

The 1,071-pupil school in Stanley Lane, Chippenham, will be able to cater for a further 450 pupils after the new sixth form block is constructed at Landers Field.

The block will be built in three phases, accommodating 150 pupils in each phase, with completion of the first phase expected in 2027.

Moving sixth formers into the new building will free up space in the existing school building, councillors were told.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the meeting was told road improvements to accommodate the expansion will be paid for by contributions from the developer building 150 houses immediately opposite the school.

Only one councillor - Phil Alford - questioned the application.

Alford wanted to know why "two coach loads of children" were being bused from Melksham into Abbeyfield School when there are spaces at Melksham Oak Community School and Chippenham's two other senior schools.

An officer from the council's education department acknowledged there are spaces at Melksham Oak, but said parents had a choice about which school to send their children to.

She added that Hardenhuish School was at capacity with a waiting list, while Sheldon School had vacancies in the lower years, but was at capacity in the upper years.

"This will make a huge difference to the school," she said.

The meeting heard that local concerns around traffic and ecology had been overcome and that while construction would not achieve net zero in Phase One, due to the lack of roof space for solar panels, it would achieve certification by the end of Phase Three.

Follow BBC Gloucestershire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.