Special education needs classrooms plan approved

The plans would see more classroom space created at Park School in Blackpool

Proposals to extend a school to ensure more pupils can attend lessons in their home town have been given the go-ahead as part of a multimillion-pound investment in special needs education.

An application to build two new classrooms along with other facilities at Park Community Academy, in Blackpool, has been approved by council officers using delegated powers.

The scheme would see a first-floor extension and a two-storey addition made to The Stables building at the school, which was built in 1961 and has already previously been extended.

The investment is part of the council’s town-wide plan to ensure children with additional needs can receive their education close to home.

Outdoor games area

A meeting of the council’s Children and Young People’s Scrutiny Committee was told in June last year that £6.2m of funding was set to fund the building of new classroom space in the town, including at Park Community Academy on Whitegate Drive.

Documents accompanying the application by Architects Cassidy and Ashton said pupils were currently "having to travel to educational facilities outside of the borough", which was at "considerable cost to the local authority".

The project would include two new intensive skills classrooms "alongside ancillary facilities", with the first classroom expected to be ready for use by September 2025, the documents added.

Work is also set to include changes to the parking layout and landscaping, and alterations to the existing outdoor games area, which will be slightly smaller in size.