Go-ahead for extra special school places in Hemel Hempstead, subject to planning permission

The number of places at three special schools across Hertfordshire can increase by 56 from September, councillor have decided.

The number of places at Woodfield Community Special School, in Hemel Hempstead, can increase by 32.

The number of places at Greenside Community Special School, in Stevenage, can now increase by 16.

And there can be a further eight additional places at Lakeside Community Special School, in Welwyn Garden City.

The plans were given the final go-ahead by a meeting of the cabinet at Hertfordshire County Council on Monday (May 18), after consideration of responses to the statutory notices.

But the expansion will still be subject to the granting of planning permissions for the necessary work to the school buildings.

Backing the proposal executive member for education, libraries and localism Cllr Terry Douris said the schools provide important facilities for our young people.

And executive member for resources and performance Cllr Ralph Sangster said that providing the facilities in the county would save the council “considerable sums of money”.

“I am particularly keen to address the issue of the financial benefits of increasing our capacity in county,” said Cllr Sangster.

“We tend to send a number of our children out of county where we need to provide a service not within our capacity to do so.

“And that costs us considerable sums of money. Increasing our capacity within the county will mitigate that cost and I we;come the proposals as put forward.”

At the meeting it was reported that, following the publication of the statutory notices to increase pupil numbers, there were no objections made to the proposals to expand Lakeside, in Welwyn Garden City.

Five responses were made to the Greenside plans, highlighting concerns about disruption of construction works and the traffic generated by the increase in pupils.

And two responses were made to the Woodfield plan, which were reported to focus on increased levels of traffic, parking, road safety and congestion problems.

It was reported to the cabinet that all of the issues had been previously raised during the council’s previous consultation.

And as the concerns related to highways and parking concerns, it was suggested to councillors that they would be addressed as part of the planning process.

That’s because the £2.63m plans to make the necessary improvements to the sites will have to obtain planning permission. And expansion pf the sites would be conditional on the granting of planning permission.

“Clearly there will need to be the requirement to obtain planning consent and the proposal approves the idea to expand these schools on the basis that the planning approval is granted,” said Cllr Douris.