Plans to expand West Sussex village school to meet demand from new housing
Plans for a £6m expansion of Yapton Primary School are ready to take the next step with the publication of a statutory proposal by West Sussex County Council.
Following a public consultation last month, Sam Raby, cabinet member for children, young people & learning, has approved the publication, which lays out plans to increase the school’s intake from 315 pupils per year to 420 per year from September 2028.
An officers’ report to Mr Raby said: “The demand for places at Yapton CE Primary school has been increasing and recent projected pupil forecasts for both the school, and the school planning area in which it sits, show an increase in numbers starting school until 2030-31.
“The increase is largely due to the significant house-building within Yapton and surrounding areas. Therefore, it is necessary to create additional pupil places at the school to provide sufficient capacity to manage this projected increase in demand for places.”
If it goes ahead, the expansion will require remodelling works and the construction of a four-classroom block extension to make room for the extra pupils.
The total budget for the work is a fraction over £6m, which will be covered by S106 funds – contributions paid to the council by developers given permission to build in the area.
The public consultation attracted 77 responses – 29 were in favour of expansion, 35 objected and 13 neither supported nor objected.
By far the biggest concern raised was that of parking, traffic congestion and road safety.
The report said: “While views differed regarding the proposal itself, there was a clear consensus that transport and access arrangements should form an important part of any future development of the school.”