'Significant risk' to plans for new special school

Plans to build another school for children with special educational needs in Essex may be at risk because of how small the available site is.

If plans were granted, the 190-place school could open by September 2026 and would be split across sites in South Woodham Ferrers and Rayleigh.

Demand for special school places in the county has been increasing, with more than 600 extra children predicted to be in need of a place in two years' time.

Essex County Council said there were "significant risks" at the site in Rayleigh, including the land not having enough space for outdoor recreation and a three-storey building.

A 190-place special school for children and young people with severe learning difficulties would help with population growth in south Essex, the authority said.

The school was planned to have two campuses - with 40 places at Chetwood in South Woodham Ferrers and 150 places at the 500-home Wolsey Park development in Rayleigh.

It was hoped it would be open by September 2026.

However, the council warned there were "significant risks" that planning permission for the Wolsey Park site would not be granted.

It said a three-storey building would be needed to provide 150 special school places but the area was too small for such a development, according the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The authority added that the land required for the building, parking and drop-off area would leave insufficient space to meet normal standards for outdoor recreation.

A statement read: "It is likely to be necessary to make a strong planning case for the need for the school to counter-balance the potential planning issues.

"The current deficit of specialist provision in Essex generally - and Rochford specifically - give us grounds for thinking that a powerful argument can be made."

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