But it will still be years before it’s open
The Beaufort Park development on the east side of the A4018 near Cribbs Causeway will eventually see 1,100 new homes built(Image: Persimmon Homes)
A primary school is being planned for a new neighbourhood taking shape on the outskirts of Bristol. The school, due to open in 2029, will be built near Cribbs Causeway and will initially serve two big housing estates being built in the area.
Councillors approved the £19m project on Monday (July 14) and said it will meet the needs of the families set to move into the Berwick Green and Beaufort Park developments.
The new two-form entry primary school will be built on the Berwick Green development on the western side of the Cribbs Patchway New Neighbourhood. It will be funded by money from developers paying Section 106 Roof Tax contributions, with the target for the new school to welcome pupils in September 2029.
Berwick Green is a development of 244 homes with parking and public open space, according to developer Taylor Wimpey. A primary school had already been approved as part of the wider 1,000-home development area, along with a care home and local centre.
In the same meeting of the council’s cabinet, councillors also approved support for children with special needs and disabilities (SEND) at Lyde Green Primary School. The £950,000 project will expand the Resource Base, which is part of the existing primary school providing for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).
The plans will require final approval from the Department for Education (DfE) and would be funded from the council’s High Needs Capital Grant from Government. The expansion will increase the number of children who can attend, allow them to learn there for longer, and widen the range of needs that could be supported.
South Gloucestershire Council cabinet member with responsibility for education, Cllr Ian Boulton, said: “I am really pleased to see these two projects moving forward. In recent months we’ve had to work hard to get capital projects progressing that are vital to meet needs where new homes are being built.
“Families are moving in and now we have vital promised infrastructure like schools being delivered. We’ve been able to get projects like the new primary and secondary schools for Lyde Green underway and on track and now we can move ahead and really build for the future.
“The new school at Berwick Green is the first of several new facilities that will be needed to serve the wider Cribbs Patchway New Neighbourhood, including the Brabazon site on the old Filton Airfield. We will continue to closely monitor the build out of these new homes so that we can plan and deliver the infrastructure needed to sustain them at the right time.
“The expanded Resource Base at the existing primary school in Lyde Green will allow more children to get a place there. It will broaden the range of needs that can be support there, and it will allow those children to stay in the school for longer, so they don’t have to change schools part-way through their primary years.”
The council’s approval of the plan to expand the Lyde Green Resource Base project will be submitted by the school to the DfE for approval. The neighbourhood’s long-delayed secondary school is also due to open in 2026.
At the Brabazon development nearby, more than 6,000 homes could eventually be built. Three schools could be delivered as part of the masterplan for the new ‘town’, which is being built at Filton Airfield next to the long-awaited Bristol Arena site.