Balgores School Consultation

The London Borough of Havering have appointed the contractor Galliford Try to design and build a new purpose-built special school for Primary, Secondary and Post Sixteen pupils (4-19 years) with complex learning needs.

The new school is to be built on the Balgores Fields site in Gidea Park, land that is owned by the Council and is subject of restrictive covenant that means it can only be used for education purposes.

The new school will accommodate 300 pupils and will include the school buildings, pupil drop off, staff parking, a range of outdoor play and sports facilities and landscaping.

Building this new school will help the London Borough of Havering meet the increasing demand for specialist SEND provision, particularly for children and young people diagnosed with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) with complex learning needs.

The Council is currently unable to provide sufficient specialist school places for all pupils living in the Borough with large numbers having to travel outside the borough to go to school. In addition the number of children with an Educational and Health Care (EHC) Plan is expected to increase over the next 5 years and it is therefore essential the Borough plans to meet this increased need in the coming years.

The former Gidea Park Library site is not included in the application site for the new school and will need to be subject of a separate planning application at the appropriate time.

The London Borough of Havering have appointed the contractors Galliford Try to build the new school. Galliford Try is one the leading contractors in the country and have extensive experience of delivering education projects throughout the UK.

Galliford Try are members of the Considerate Constructors Scheme, a voluntary scheme meaning that registered contractors and organisations are active in trying to improve the way they work, by raising their standards in being more considerate to communities, the environment and their own workforce.

The primary purpose of the project is to provide much needed specialist school places for some of the most vulnerable children living in the Borough. Notwithstanding this the school anticipates developing a community use agreement that will enable some of the schools facilities to be used by the wider community outside of schools hours and during school holidays.

Subject to securing planning permission it is hoped that the development will be commenced in the Autumn/Winter 2025/2026.

It is anticipated that the school will take approximately 18 months to be built.

Due to the increased pressure for specialist school places, the Council are hoping that the proposed school will be built and operational by September 2027.

There will be 42 staff parking spaces, including accessible spaces, car share and spaces fitted with charging facilities for electric cars. A further 10 spaces will be provided for pupil drop off and pick up by parents and taxis, which will be used for visiting staff parking during the school day. The school will also have 5 spaces for its own minibuses.

The organisation of the drop off and collection procedure, combined with the layout of the site ensures that there will be sufficient space within the site for all minibuses, taxis and private cars to enter to allow pupils to be safely dropped off and to wait to pick pupils up.

The layout of the site ensures that there will be sufficient space within the site for all minibuses, taxis and private cars to enter to allow pupils to be safely dropped off and to wait to pick pupils up.

The proposals seek to retain as many existing trees as possible. All existing trees along the boundaries of the site are proposed to be retained and protected unless they are found to be in poor or unsafe condition. A small number of smaller trees within the site are proposed to be removed, these will be replaced with new tree planting.

The current proposals include a single building that is arranged over part single storey and part two storey.

The consultation will run from Tuesday 20^th May to Tuesday 10^th June 2025.

You can submit your views via the comments box and/or answering the questions by clinking here

During the consultation you can also contact the team via phone or e-mail with any comments or questions:

Call: 01926 298895, Monday to Friday 9am-5pm

E-mail: balgoresschool@hattonplanning.co.uk

We are also holding a public consultation event where you will be able to see the plans and members of the team including the architect, planning consultant, highways consultant and the contractors will be available to answer any questions and hear your views.

The consultation event is to be held at Royal Liberty School – Upper Brentwood Road, Gidea Park, Romford, Essex RM2 6HJ on:

• Thursday 28^th May between 3pm and 8pm and
• Saturday 31^st May between 10am and 1pm