118 new homes will have 'huge impact' on Sutton school

An application for 118 homes has been submitted to Ashfield District Council on land just off Alfreton Road for a mixed development of two, three and four bedroom houses.

Figures calculated by Nottinghamshire County Council said the development will mean an additional 25 primary and 19 secondary school places and should seek an education contribution of £286,375.00 for primary provision and £327,940.00 from developers Gleesons Regeneration Ltd

However, an independent report, carried out on behalf of Gleesons Regeneration Ltd suggests the council do not need to ask for the funding as the schools has an “adequate number of available places”.

Mapplewells Primary School, on Henning Lane, has criticised this report and said the school is currently at “full operating capacity” and the development would have a “huge impact” as it is already oversubscribed due to it’s Outstanding Ofsted rating.

In a letter submitted to Ashfield District Council last month it said if the development goes ahead it would “push out more children who already live in the catchment area , who would then have to attend a primary school outside their current catchment area.”

It added that the figures calculated by the county council are an “underestimation”.

The letter continued that an increase of 25 primary school places would lead to Mapplewells Primary needing to recruit an additional teacher at an average cost of £30,000, plus additional teaching assistants and resources as well as building additional classrooms.

It stated:“Based on the demographics of people living on the nearby Ashfield Estate, it is very safe to say that this development will attract a very high number of young families who will need school places.

“The area is very popular with professional families, due to its close proximity of the M1, hence why the Developers are wanting to build in this area.

“It is likely that this would exceed the proposed 25 primary school places.”

Ashfield District Council have received 18 objection letters from nearby residents over concerns such as problems with traffic, localised flooding and pressure on nearby services.

In total, the council is asking Gleesons Regeneration Ltd for a section 106 agreement contribution of £603,675.00 which will go towards affordable housing, local infrastructure and facilities as well as education.

The application is due to be discussed in a planning committee meeting on Thursday August 24.