Head of Southam College urges councillors to stop looking for 'nirvana' and accept its town centre location

A planning application was put forward to replace several old buildings on the site
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The head of an outstanding south Warwickshire school has urged members of its local town council to stop looking for nirvana and accept that it is set to remain in its current town centre location.

Ranjit Samra, from Southam College, was speaking at the latest planning committee of Stratford District Council where councillors were considering an application to replace a number of dated 60-year-old buildings with a new energy-efficient one.

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Members of the committee heard objections from Southam Town Council relating to the building’s design and ongoing highways issues.

The head of a south Warwickshire school has urged members of its local town council to stop looking for 'nirvana' and accept that it is set to remain in its current town centre locationThe head of a south Warwickshire school has urged members of its local town council to stop looking for 'nirvana' and accept that it is set to remain in its current town centre location
The head of a south Warwickshire school has urged members of its local town council to stop looking for 'nirvana' and accept that it is set to remain in its current town centre location

Council chairman Cllr Angela John told the meeting: “An opportunity for a truly outstanding piece of design and /or architecture that either blends in better with the surroundings or makes an iconic statement for the town and wide district has been lost.

“More worrying is the lack of any real response to the current unsafe nature of Welsh Road West at the start and end of the school day.

“Currently the college has around 1,600 pupils of which 1,100 are transported by coach. This requires a minimum of 16 high capacity single-deck coaches twice a day. This proposal only guarantees one additional coach space - this is entirely insufficient to deal with the traffic management problems.”

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She added that the extra coach parking proposed would block car park spaces and the coach spaces shown in the plan were too short for the high capacity vehicles.

A report to the planning committee explained that the proposed development would see the number of buildings at the site reduced, creating space for improved parking and better drop-off facilities for cars and buses.

Mr Samra said the improvements were overdue, adding: “The school was built in 1958 for 600 pupils and it is like an old car starting to break down. We are currently having to spend hundreds of thousands each year on its maintenance. It is also very inefficient.

“We wanted a school that was fit for purpose, future-proof and which had a wow factor. We feel that the design delivers that. It is about raising aspirations.

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“I know that the council would like the school to be built in a brand new area on a brand new site away from Southam and I get that - that’s nirvana - but it isn’t going to happen and the DfE aren’t going to fund it. This is a pragmatic solution to a very serious problem.

“With this design we do feel we will be able to bring more of the coaches on site. This isn’t the ideal solution but it is much better than what we have.”

Councillors voted unanimously to grant permission to the school, part of the Stowe Valley Multi Academy Trust, which was rated outstanding in its latest Ofsted report.

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