New buildings for Greenway Academy in Horsham granted planning permission

The application for the Greenway Academy, in Greenway, was given the nod during a meeting of the planning committee on Tuesday (July 4).

Greenway is part of the government’s Schools Rebuilding Programme, and the design proposals for the new Greenway Junior School have been approved by the Department for Education.

Jo Newton, executive headteacher, said the school, which was built in 1949, had ‘reached the end of its life’ and was ‘no longer able to provide facilities for a 21st century education’.

She added: “The health and wellbeing of children has been a critical factor in the new design, with particular emphasis on improvements to the quality of teaching spaces.

“These modern facilities will represent a vast improvement in the environmental performance of the school.”

The work to rebuild the school will be carried out in phases, with the demolition of the old buildings not being carried out until the new one is ready for the children.

The nursery building and a block of four classrooms will not be demolished.

As well as the part two-storey, part single storey building, the plans include play areas, a canopy and solar panels.

The council received 35 letters objecting to the plans, with seven in support.

Concerns raised included the size and location of the new building and the possibility that it would over-look homes in Merryfield Drive – though the plans included the planting of 11 trees on the boundary to try to address this.

Some wondered why the new school could not be built on the site of the old, with youngsters receiving lessons in temporary classrooms until the work was complete.

Others, though, agreed that the current school building was not fit for purpose and welcomed the idea of a modern, green building taking its place.

Some councillors weren’t completely happy with the application, with leader Martin Boffey saying he was ‘torn’.

Mr Boffey said the new building would have ‘a profound impact on a number of residents’, adding: “It’s clear that there is harm to some of the neighbours and we have to work out whether that harm is outweighed by the benefit of the scheme overall.”