Preston specialist school approved

A primary school that promises to offer its pupils “activity-based learning” is set to open in a Preston suburb.

City planners have given the nod to the conversion of an office building in Cottam in order to create the specialist facility, which will also focus on providing excursions to places where lessons can be taught outdoors.

The small-scale establishment – coming to the two-story Cottam Lane Business Centre – will have no more than 25 pupils and 10 members of staff on site at any one time.

The planning application for which Preston City Council has now granted prior approval does not specify the total number of children that the unit will accommodate.  However, it explains that children will “arrive and depart…at different times of the day to minimise traffic”.

The proposal indicates that the school will be “state-funded”, yet also contrasts its offering with that of the state sector.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service understands that Lancashire County Council is unaware of the planned facility, but – depending upon the exact nature of the school – the education authority would not necessarily have to be notified beforehand.

The application states:  “The programme of education differs to that of a state school in that activity-based learning will be encouraged as well as off-site experiences of outdoor learning.”

Four objections were raised to the plans, with concerns including their impact on the roads and a potential increase in noise and loss of privacy.   The “lack of information” submitted to the city council was also highlighted as an issue.

The application was lodged by “HJM Properties”.   Companies House lists an “HJM Properties Limited” as a real estate firm based in London.  However, the Cottam Lane Business Centre itself is given as the address of the applicant on the form submitted to the town hall.

Companies House also lists New Focus Education Limited – a firm established in March – as being based at the Cottam address.

The LDRS has been unable to contact HJM Properties or the current occupier of the Cottam Lane premises.

In a report outlining the reasons for their approval of the proposal, city council planning officers noted that highways officials at County Hall had not objected to the development, but had requested a traffic management plan.

The document said the applicant had, in any case, already provided additional information explaining that pupils would be “mostly transported to school by school staff, using a school minibus, to reduce the number of pick-ups and drop offs”. The company had also stressed that the proposed staff numbers were a third of the total currently able to be accommodated by the office operation – and so would reduce the impact on parking in the area.

The level of detail included with the application was not deemed to be a matter that could be taken into account as part of a prior notification application.