Plans submitted to turn old school into housing

A school that closed last year could soon be turned into housing.

Meadowbrook Montessori School in Warfield, Berkshire, has been vacant since it permanently closed in summer 2023.

Now plans have been submitted to Bracknell Forest Council to convert the office buildings on the site into six houses.

The planning application has been validated by Bracknell Forest Council, but it is not known when a decision will be made.

The application is seeking prior approval, meaning the authority will have to decide whether it is a suitable space to be converted into housing.

Developer Quentin Trivior Limited would like to create six dwellings of one, two, or three bedrooms, through internal works of the site, and not involving any new construction.

Developers argued the site benefitted from existing vehicle and pedestrian access on Bracknell Road.

Future residents could park in the existing car park, which would provide 12 spaces as well as 14 cycle spaces.

A court case with a hearing in May 2023 ultimately led to the closure of Meadowbrook Montessori, and it was officially registered to close on 4 July.

There was little publicly-available information about why the school closed, but the Local Democracy Reporting Service received evidence from a parent that there was a dispute between the landlord and leaders at the school.

The school had received Good ratings from Ofsted in 2008 and 2012.

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