New college for Burgess Hill special school could finally secure funding

There is light at the end of the tunnel for campaigners calling on West Sussex County Council to build a new college for children with special needs and disabilities.
Cabinet member for education and skills Nigel Jupp pictured with Woodlands Meed campaigners late last yearCabinet member for education and skills Nigel Jupp pictured with Woodlands Meed campaigners late last year
Cabinet member for education and skills Nigel Jupp pictured with Woodlands Meed campaigners late last year

The council’s cabinet will meet on May 26, when it is expected to approve the use of £19.5m to build Woodlands Meed College on the current site, in Birchwood Grove Road, Burgess Hill.

If all goes as planned, construction will start in December 2021, with the college opening in May 2023.

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While 2023 is still a long way off, the news was greeted with ‘huge relief’ by members of the Complete Woodlands Meed campaign, which has proved itself to be a real thorn in the council’s side over the years.

A spokesman said: “This is a very long time for our children to wait and with more challenges ahead.

“If this approval happens it represents a significant hurdle crossed and we hope at long last, maybe we can actually start to trust West Sussex County Council.”

Woodlands Meed School opened in nearby Chanctonbury Road in 2012, but funding to build the college never surfaced, leaving older children to be educated in prefabricated buildings in Birchwood Grove Road.

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As well as approving the money, the cabinet will be asked to agree that the college will have room for 100 students, not the 136 preferred by campaigners and governors.

While governors called the figure ‘short-sighted’, campaigners said it was ‘quite surprising given all the new home construction going on in Sussex’.

In a statement, the governors said the expected decision to release the money was a ‘step forward’ – but they did not agree with everything in the report.

They felt some of the costings and some of the ‘risks’ outlined in the report were overstated, adding: “There are a number of comments within this report with which we do not agree and a couple of points which we consider to be just plain wrong.

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“We are also mindful that we were in this position a year ago before everything ground to a halt without explanation or consultation.

“However, we do not think now is time to detail these matters.

“We are going to concentrate on the positive for our students and the school.”

The meeting will be held on Tuesday May 26, starting at 10.30am. It will be webcast.

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