Housing development next to school

[Sydney88]

Hi all,

Bit of a rant but keen to get your thoughts.

I’ve learned that a housing development is being built on the current site of our good local secondary school with the school being moved next door (new building paid by the property developers). There will be around 160 new homes being build at the foot of the school. The school is already popular. I worry whether DC will now get a place. Where will all the local children will go? Will there not be a capacity issue? There is only one other secondary school in the area (and that is in special measures). Has similar happened to anyone else? What happened?

Maybe the new school will have an increased capacity?

They will have to fully build the new school before demolishing the current one, then actually start building the homes (I would have thought!) So that buys some time.

How old is your DC?

Yes, this happens frequently. Profit is put before community and big housing developments get approved by those with a vested financial or political motive. No corresponding infrastructure is put in place, eg extra school capacity, GP provision, parking spaces etc, or if it is put in place, it is rarely sufficient. So you may well miss out on your school place if a massive load of new houses are built closer than you are.

Thanks @BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz - will try to find out if this is the case. DC are still in infants so there is a while to go but we are not planning on moving from this house so worried

@BlackberrySky - that’s terrible! Really unhappy about it

If they are still infants then I would put this to the back of your mind.

In the time since my DC started school (now Y5), one local "ok" school has been shut down, two have gone from Special Measures to Outstanding and another one that was Good is now in Special Measures.

So much can change between now and then.

Many of those will be tiny studio or one bed no doubts. Can you check how many are family homes? Where they have done this near me the school has used the money to build “up” on their land and make more classrooms or other such investment from the sale of the land.

Thank you @BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz - that’s reassuring - hopefully the situation improves by then!

@2020isnotbehaving - it seems that the developer is advertising a lot of family homes - referring to great amenities in the local area and close proximity to the school - at the expense of the existing community it seems....

Will the playing fields be used for housing? Happened to our local secondary which was disgusting in my view.

What you need to understand is that the pupil admissions to the school in the future will be controlled by the admission criteria of the school. You need to check what the criteria is but most will be along the lines of looked after children, then siblings, then distance.
There may also be a catchment zone requirement that has priority over distance.
No matter how unfair you think it might be, the reality is that a new estate right by the school is going to give priority to those that are living in the new houses. Some pupils will have priority for a few years on the basis of being a sibling.
The LA will have done some calculations using averages as to how many new pupils will need a school place based on the size of the new estate but this will for sure be a figure taking the not so popular school into account.
Sorry I am not being very positive about your concerns but there is really little that can be done about who will get priority in the future other than a house move to one of the new houses.

@admission - thanks for your reply. I am indeed aware of what the catchment criteria would be for the school...this is a relatively small area so the children in that area have traditionally gotten into that school (including accounting for siblings) - the other school is outside the area..

As mentioned, it is more of a rant since I know there is nothing I can do about it. To be honest, I’m not convinced that the existing community will have been really considered when permission is given for these large estates. Will there be a new GP? (no), new school? (no), other new infrastructure? (no)....

We cannot just all up and leave our homes to make way for housing estates and the profits they generate....

@Rollercoaster1920 - exactly playing fields sold and original school to be demolished and moved next to the housing association on a smaller plot of land