North Whiteley: New 900-place secondary school gets approval despite decision-makers having huge concerns

Hampshire County Council has approved the construction of the new secondary school, which is planned alongside the development of around 3,500 homes in North Whitley.

The new school will include a three-storey main building with classrooms, a drama studio, assembly and dining halls, and a two-storey sports block featuring a four-court sports hall and multi-use activity studio.

The site will provide two all-weather sports pitches, grass playing fields, and a multi-use games area outside. The school’s sports facilities and assembly hall will be available for community use outside of school hours.

It will provide education for 900 children, including 15 placements for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Solar panels will be installed on the main and sports buildings’ roofs to generate electricity.

However, despite the news, councillors at Hampshire County Council’s decision-making regulatory committee (April 30) said they were “hugely disappointed” and worried about some of the design’s characteristics.

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Cllr Louise Parker said she was “hugely disappointed” that the school is not fully accessible and “particularly disturbed” that the site is not fully accessible to all communities as a matter of funding.

“We have come a long way to the disability and discrimination act. This is a brand new school, so frankly, I’m hugely disappointed.”

She added concerns over the loss of biodiversity and safe accessibility to the school since footpaths linking housing development to the secondary school won’t be ready for the school’s opening and could be built “after a year.”

Cllr Parker-Jones said: “Good habits start early. So if it’s safe to walk to school from the first day it sets a really good habit for our young people.”

She added her disappointment about the school not having heat pumps but instead gas boilers.

“I have huge concerns, but I will support it. But I don’t think we need to learn from this, and we should do better as a committee to make sure there are [schools] environmentally sustainable and safe.”

Endorsing those comments, Cllr Bill Whitters said that accessibility for anybody with a learning or main disability is critical and “we have the opportunity to set an example, so we need to make sure anything we produce in the meantime meets the needs of future generations.”

Cllr Stephen Parker, for its part, expressed his disappointment about the lack of heat pumps.

However, despite supporting the application due to the need to build schools, Cllr Roger Price said it was a “real pity” that some things were “not right” in the application.

“The council should learn from this when looking at building a new school”, he added.

The new school is intended to meet the anticipated demand for secondary school places across Whiteley, with the potential to expand to a 1,200-place school, if needed.

The Henry Cort Community College will run the school following Hampshire County Council’s decision.

The college will move from its current Fareham location to the new North Whiteley building in September 2027.

The proposal was approved unanimously.