THE former Wokingham headquarters of a digital marketing firm is to be converted into a school for children with additional needs.
The Oddysey Education Group is a private school for those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
It has received permission to convert Buckhurst Court, a single-storey office building off London Road, into a new learning establishment.
At a Wokingham Borough Council planning meeting held on Wednesday, February 8, a number of concerns were raised by Cllr Maria Gee (Liberal Democrats, Wescott), who called for the plan to be refused by the committee.
She argued that there were contaminated land and air quality issues on the site, the plan lacked detail and there was confusion about how staff and pupils could get to the school.
Council officers said that an air quality and land contamination assessment has to take place before any work could start.
It was also noted that a majority of the pupils going to the school would come from Reading Borough, as a letter of intent submitted by the application outlines Oddysey Education Group’s contract with Reading children’s services company Brighter Futures for Children to provide SEND education.
Cllr Rachelle Shepherd-DuBey (Liberal Democrats, Winnersh) said: “We definitely need SEND places in Wokingham, we are short of them and have a fair number of students here that really need it. Hopefully, you’re going to be accepting some Wokingham students in this place as well.”
Cllr Stephen Conway (Liberal Democrats, Twyford) argued that SEND school places are needed throughout the area.
He said: “It’s clearly providing a very important need and the pupils that go there will clearly benefit enormously from this opportunity.”
Cllr Conway agreed with Bailey-Biggs that issues Cllr Gee raised could be answered through planning conditions.
Charu Kashyap, the CEO and founder of Odyssey Education Group, said: “We believe that every child should have the best start in life, and we’re committed to making a significant financial investment in creating a warm nurturing and high-quality learning environment.”
Approval means work can begin on converting the inside of the building, with the only external work being to create a playground and install play equipment.
The school will serve up to 50 pupils from ages seven to 18, with a total of 32 staff needed.
A travel plan to address transport to the site, and assessments relating to contaminated land and air quality must be submitted before the school is occupied.
You can view the approved application by typing reference 223023 into the council’s planning portal.
