New Nantwich primary school plan gets go ahead

Plans for a new primary school in Nantwich have been given the go-ahead – although concerns were raised about the lack of parking, writes Belinda Ryan.

The one-form entry school, which will accommodate 210 children and include additional resources provision for pupils with special educational needs, will be built on vacant land off Richard Gibson Road.

Planning officer Gareth Taylerson told Cheshire East’s southern planning committee: “As part of the approval for the Kingsley Fields [1,000 homes] application, this was given outline consent for the location of the school in this location so, in essence, the principle’s been established it’s the details we have to look at now.”

Wybunbury councillor Janet Clowes (Con) said she feared the parking allocation wasn’t enough.

Highways officer Andrew Goligher said the provision had been calculated according to the number of staff and the Cheshire East standard is one space per staff member plus three spaces for visitors.

Cllr Clowes said: “We’ve got 26 places plus two disabled, you’re going to have a lot of staff there and a lot of carer staff there.

“Special needs provision will attract children from further afield. Have we actually calculated those car parking spaces correctly?

“You could have as many as four additional members of staff in a class of SEN children, so I would ask that we look into that and clarify it because we could end up with quite a lot of difficulty on site.”

Willaston councillor Allen Gage (Con) raised similar concerns, saying he had read about 25 children with special needs were expected to take up places at the school.

He said that could mean up to three minibuses to bring them and “it looks a bit cramped on the site”.

He was told the school was predominantly a primary school with SEN provision and no special parking standards were applicable.

Cllr Clowes proposed the application be approved but asked her concerns about parking be recorded in the minutes.

Crewe councillor Anthony Critchley (Lab) seconded the proposal and the scheme was approved with seven councillors voting in favour and one abstaining.