The first details of a multi-million pound redevelopment of a former middle school site have been revealed.
The former Bungay Middle School, on Hillside Road East, is soon to undergo massive redevelopments to provide a “valuable service to the education needs of the area”, according to East Suffolk Council (ESC).
The school will provide a suitable learning space for students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
The development is part of a £45m development package which includes schools in Bury St Edmunds and Ipswich.
READ MORE: Suffolk unveils £45m plan to create hundreds of special educational needs places
Now an application submitted by SCC has given a first glimpse at what the former Bungay Middle School will look like.
In a consultation approved with no objections from the local authority, the school looks set to have two existing outbuildings demolished, new external fences built, and a complete overhaul of its interior.
With a former capacity of 484 students when it operated as a mixed middle school for children between the ages of 9 and 13, the site was closed on August 31, 2012.
It then reopened in February 2018 as an SCC maintained site for specialist provision, operated by The Attic PRU (Pupil referral unit) as one of four sites across Suffolk designated to offer core subjects and vocational skills to young people with social, emotional or behavioural difficulties.
However the school will become a full-time free SEND provider, giving a much needed boost for education in the region with the nearest SEND providers to Bungay area otherwise being The Ashley School Academy Trust and the Warren School, both in Lowestoft.
READ MORE: Locations revealed for two new special schools in Suffolk
Following the consultation a planning application will be submitted and if approved, an existing building and former bike shed will be demolished, with a new cycle store created near the school’s entrance.
Four new entrance points would also be built at the site, alongside a number of specialist sports and learning facilities.
They include two outdoor miniature football fields, an outdoor courtyard growing garden, soft play rooms, and music and D&T classrooms.
East Suffolk Council said the proposed site “would not cause any loss of amenity or visual harm and would aid the county council in providing a valuable service to the education needs of the area.”
Town mayor Sue Collins said: “Bungay town council are very pleased that the site is going to be used for an educational purpose again and we are just waiting to see which academy trust will run the school and what happens to the Attic PRU.
“The facility will be upgraded and used again which is good, and we look forward to working collaboratively with whichever trust is chosen.”
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