B+K, Woodbridge Road, Ipswich
We obtained planning permission for a new Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) school on Woodbridge Road in Ipswich.
The new school will provide spaces for 60 pupils in a specialist environment designed to accommodate their individual learning needs. A full range of ancillary facilities, such as a multi-use games area, outdoor dining and social spaces, onsite parking with a drop off area, associated landscaping, and new pedestrian access are to be provided.
The scheme is to be delivered by B+K through the Department for Education’s Off-Site Framework, which focuses on the efficient delivery of high-quality schools, which are built through Modern Methods of Construction (MMC).
Our Solutions
The former industrial site – in a degraded condition and unused for many years – is wholly brownfield and predominantly made up of concrete hardstanding. However, access to the site is through a newly completed residential development, thereby justifying a new site entrance from Woodbridge Road.
Nexus led the community engagement process to ensure the views of the community and key stakeholders were taken into account in the final designs, including the decision to create a new site access to protect the amenity of existing residents.
The site arrangement responds carefully to the location of the adjacent railway line, the need to provide adequate setbacks from the busy road and adjacent residential properties, to create a suitable education environment for more sensitive learners.
The Outcome
The application was submitted following pre-application engagement with the Borough and District Councils, the local community and key stakeholders. Following attendance at the planning committee which allowed Nexus to stress the importance of SEND education provision in the district and the sensitive nature of the designs, permission was granted by the planning committee.
