School 'amphitheatre' planning permission sought

A retrospective planning application for a small "amphitheatre" in the grounds of a Bradford primary school has been submitted.

Built in 2024, Burley Oaks Primary School in Burley-in-Wharfedale said the space was used as an outdoor classroom space.

However, the work, which was created with surplus soil left over from another project, was carried out without planning permission.

Now the school has submitted a retrospective application to Bradford Council seeking permission to retain the feature.

The application said the amphitheatre was developed following the installation of drainage works on the school playing fields in August 2024.

The plans said: "This installation left us with a significant amount of top soil to be repurposed. We wanted to find a sustainable way of dealing with the surplus soil, as well as minimising the cost of the project, and whilst some was spread across the site, we still needed a solution for the rest.

"We came up with the idea of creating a small 'amphitheatre' style seating area at the side of the field next to the path, to allow easy access by class groups to use during the day as an outdoor classroom area."

The school said that "at no point" was it advised it would require planning permission for such a feature at the time.

It said had since "questioned on whether we have permission for such an installation, hence this application".

A decision on the proposal is expected next month, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

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