Temporary classrooms planned for first school intake

The proposed new primary school will be built on a plot which borders Henry Littler Way and St Johns Drive in Whittingham, subject to planning consent

A council has announced plans to erect two temporary classrooms on the site of a former hospital, in order to accommodate the first intake of pupils to a proposed new school next September.

Lancashire County Council is hoping to create a temporary establishment on the former Whittingham Hospital site, on land earmarked for a permanent primary school as part of a broader housing development.

It comes after the council resubmitted plans for a new school to open on the site in September 2027, after the scale of the build expanded.

The authority's stop-gap solution means the 60 additional pupil places promised will be available next year, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

A new primary school had originally been expected to open on the site in September 2026, but the council said more time would be required for its construction after a revised application was lodged.

Redrawn plans, seen by the LDRS, show the proposed capacity of the school has increased, with 420 pupils now expected to be accommodated at the new establishment.

Back in February, a proposal was submitted for a school catering for 210 pupils – a figure based on one new entry class of 30 reception pupils being admitted each year over the course of seven years.

However, the latest planning application reveals the now Reform UK-run authority has chosen to revert to a higher pupil tally, first mooted six years ago.

The new plans come after the council was forced, in May, to abandon separate plans to expand nearby Goosnargh Oliverson's Church of England Primary School amid concerns amongst residents the move would cause traffic chaos in the village.

'Demand for places'

The current plan is to build a single-storey facility, to include 15 classrooms, a special educational needs unit, an integrated dining hall and dedicated play and games areas.

The application has been submitted by Lancashire County Council's education department and will be determined by the authority's independent, cross-party development control committee.

A County Hall spokesperson said: "We are exploring increasing the Whittingham school to a two-form entry site to ensure we are meeting the demand for places in the area."

The scope of the school will allow the maximum number of reception pupils to be admitted each year – taking the school's total roll call to 420 by the early 2030s.

The LDRS understands the council intends to install two temporary classrooms on the site over the next 12 months, along with other necessary school accommodation.

Subject to planning permission being granted, the classes for up to 60 reception-aged pupils would then be in situ for the start of the 2026/27 academic year.

Those students would become the first intake for the new school, while the permanent facility was being constructed on the surrounding land.

Should the planning process derail the temporary school in any way, education chiefs may seek to build it somewhere else – but it is understood that is not their preference.