Bristol Oasis Academy: Planning 'called in' over new school

Homes, offices and shops are also tied up in the planning application for the site on Silverthorne Lane beside the Feeder Canal

The future of a new secondary school is in jeopardy after a government decision to "call in" the planning consent.

Local authority permission for the Oasis Academy Temple Quarter school in east Bristol could now be overturned after concerns about flooding.

Parents have been campaigning for years for a new secondary school to address a shortage of year 7 places in the area.

Campaigner Jenny Grinsted said the failure to deliver the school affected more than 200 children each year.

The school was originally expected to open in 2018 but has been plagued by planning delays related to the nature of the site, which is alongside the Feeder Canal.

The government has now intervened to "call in" the planning consent, which will involve a public inquiry lasting at least six months.

Speaking on behalf of BS5 Secondary Forum and the children and families of east Bristol, Ms Grinsted told scrutiny councillors errors had been made by a number of organisations including Bristol City Council and the Department for Education (DfE).

"There is a real risk that this school may never open at all," she said.

'Extensive searches'

Commission chair, Claire Hiscott, told the meeting it was "highly likely" the planning application would be rejected and called on officers to identify potential alternative sites for the school.

But cabinet member for schools Anna Keen said council officers had already made "extensive" searches for suitable sites which had all been turned down by the DfE.

It was revealed the council has now made a deal with Cabot Learning Federation to create around 140 places for year 7 students, partly by moving dozens of sixth formers to a facility in South Gloucestershire.

Director of education Alison Hurley said the deal provides a solution for the September 2021 intake and "potentially" for the following year's batch of year 7 students in east Bristol "if the Oasis doesn't go ahead".