Council to back new Boston special needs school

Lincolnshire County Council is set to approve new plans to build a new 142-place special educational needs school in Boston.

The facility would replace the John Fieldings School in the town, which would move from its current home on Ashlawn Drive.

County council officials said the school has become “overcrowded” and “out of date”.

It forms part of plans to spend £50 million on special educational needs in an effort to create 500 places county-wide, which councillors approved in November last year.

The authority’s planning committee have been recommended to approve the proposal at a meeting next week.

How the new John Fielding School would look on Kitwood Road in Boston.

In its plans, the county council said expanding the existing school was “not an option”.

“The school would replace the existing Boston John Fielding School which has become overcrowded and whose facilities are out of date to meet modern day needs.

“Redeveloping and expanding the existing school is not considered an option and so it is proposed to build a new school which would not only replace existing provision but also offer expanded and improved facilities to meet an identified demand.”

As part of the proposal, the new school would be built on an area of green space on Kitwood Road.

How the school may be laid out.

The authority said the new build would create 142 places for students.

It would include:

• 12 places for children with profound and multiple learning difficulties
• 88 spaces for students with severe or moderate learning difficulties
• 42 places for students with autistic-spectrum disorder

The school would also hire an extra 80 staff members, taking the total staff to 137.

73 car parking spaces would be provided, including four accessible spaces and three electric car charging bays.

However, Sport England have objected to the plan over loss of playing field space at the site.

The county council said discussions are ongoing with Sport England over the objection, including proposals for a community use arrangement.

Should the objection still be in place and the plan be approved, the development would be referred to the Secretary of State for a final decision.

If given the go-ahead, county council officials hope to open the school in September 2021.

Councillors will discuss the plan at a planning meeting on November 4.

SUBSCRIBE TO LOCAL DEMOCRACY WEEKLY, our exclusive email newsletter with highlights from our coverage every week and insights and analysis from our local democracy reporters.