A new Nottingham school with more than 1,000 spaces will be built despite concerns it looks like a 'prison'. Demolition work has been under way at Nottingham College’s former Clarendon campus off Mansfield Road since August 2022 in preparation for the construction of a 1,200 place new secondary school called Bluecoat Trent, which has now been given the go-ahead by Nottingham City Council's planning committee.
The plans were devised after Nottingham College moved to a new city hub and transferred ownership of the Clarendon building to LocalEd, the arms-length property company of the Department for Education. More than £5 million in council grants will be used to build the new secondary school, despite some councillors comparing its design to a prison at the November 23 planning committee.
In the meeting, Councillor Angela Kandola, Labour representative for the Berridge ward, argued the building "looks like a prison". In response the committee was told at the end of the day "it is a school" which is being delivered on a budget.
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Councillor Ethan Radford, Labour representative for Bulwell, raised different concerns over the impact on the "horrendously congested junction" on Mansfield Road and added it would only put extra strain on public transport. The plan was narrowly passed, with four committee members voting for, three against, and two abstaining.
The school will now be built and consist of 240 places every year until all year groups are full, seeking to address rising pupil numbers in Nottingham. The DfE will manage the redevelopment and new school build ready for 2023.
Initial plans for the site would have seen the building be three storeys high with a two storey sports hall to its southern end. But design concerns were raised during the planning consultation, relating to the massing and location of the new building, with worries over the new sports hall obscuring the main entrance to the academy building.
The approved plans comprise two buildings at the site; a two-storey sports hall located on the northern part of the site and a spilt level building of three and four storeys high located towards the southern part of the site.
A total of 48 car parking spaces will also be included on the site, which would include three disabled car parking spaces and six electric vehicle charging points, together with a total of 252 covered cycle spaces.
A suspected arson attack was carried out on the old building as it was being demolished in May. Complaints were made by local businesses when the demolition works previously impacted their trade and staff.
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