'Redundant' cottage in Felpham will be demolished to make way for £1.6 million SEND facility

West Sussex County Council approved the application on Monday and, in a report on the decision, called the cottage ‘redundant’, saying: “(The cottage) has been vacant for a number of years (and) is in a poor state of repair so is to be demolished.”

The demolition will make way for a specialist support centre for students with special educational needs. When built, the facility will allow 12 students aged 11 to 16 to attend school locally, rather than heading to a specialist centre further afield.

The County Council has a statutory duty to provide school places for all children who need one, and it is hoped that the creation of a SEND facility on the Felpham Community College site will help the council meet this obligation. The original application says the new build ‘will reduce the number of children and young people with SEND moving from maintained schools and academies into costly education provision in the Independent and Non-Maintained Special School sector, sometimes at schools not situated in West Sussex.’

Last year, £1.224 million was allocated to the project and, due to rising costs, a further £284,000 has since been approved for the construction and, if approved, work could start this winter – with completion anticipated in summer 2023.

The caretaker’s cottage, on Drygrounds Lane, is believed to have been constructed sometime in the mid to late nineteenth century as a farmhouse for the nearby Drygrounds Farmstead. In the twentieth century, the remains of the farmstead – including the cottage – were incorporated into the site of Felpham Community College as the school expanded.

Council officers considered alternatives to the demolition, but decided the cottage would cause problems in future, leading to health and safety risks, vandalism and trespassing.

Even so, residents and councillors still have a chance to make their feelings heard. The decision is subject to call-in until October 19, which means local councillors opposed to the demolition of the cottage can contact West Sussex County Council and urge them to reconsider.

Click here to read the full report.

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One of Felpham's oldest buildings could be demolished to make way for a school sensory building