Warwick's Myton School gets green light for new teaching block

The school in Myton Road submitted plans to demolish two outbuildings – one being a bike store and the other being a derelict caretakers bungalow – to then build on the current turning circle on the school site.

The building would either provide a new sixth-form building for existing students, which is anticipated to increase over the coming years or, to provide additional teaching space for 190 additional students from September 2023.

It would also include 12 classrooms, offices, study areas, an IT room and a cafe with outdoor seating.

The plans went before Warwick District Council’s planning meeting on Wednesday (July 20).

There were more than 30 objections to the plans – including from Warwick Town Council.

Several concerns were raised at the meeting – including the amount of bike storage, concerns about an increase in traffic and climate change.

Cllr Richard Dickson said: “I share some of the councillors’ objections and concerns about the traffic coming onto and off the site at the start and then at the end of the day.”

Cllr Dickson also raised concerns about traffic continuing to turn right off the site across traffic and highlighted the possibility of Warwickshire County Council’s Highways team suggesting they require all drivers to turn left off the site to go back down to the roundabout.

Dave Pilcher from WCC Highways said currently there were no turning restrictions and that Transport Planning said it is not a concern at this time but could reassess if there was further development at the school site.

A school travel plan for the site was inserted as condition ahead of the site opening if the application was approved.

Cllr David Norris said he hoped more pupils would walk and cycle to the school when the new path and cycleway was installed.

"It’s enforcing and making sure these students do the cycling but I would also hope that the proposed new path and cycleway – that should be happening imminently – will enable, whether it’s Warwick Gates or whichever students go there, to use walking to school, which is what I used to do when I was younger, as their way of getting to school.”

Several councillors were also said the plans could have done more in terms of sustainability and addressing Climate Change, to which Gary Fisher, development services manager at WDC, said the council could write to the school to make these opinions known.

Cllr James Kennedy said: “I think just to express my general disappointment. Here we have a public building, we’re trying to approve it on the day after the hottest day ever on record in the UK, and it seems to make only very limited provision for mitigation of the impact of climate breakdown rather than climate change that we’re adjusting."

He added: “I appreciate entirely as a planning committee we cannot legislate in anyway for that but I think we should be writing, as Gary suggested, strongly back to the school, which after all is a public body and saying they should do better.”

The vote was passed near unanimously, bar one councillor who opposed, to grant planning permission.