Plans for the demolition and rebuild of Broomhill Junior School in Hucknall have been submitted to Ashfield district planners. If approved, a new two-storey school will be built on school land before the existing school is demolished to make way for a Multi-Use Games Area (MUGA).
Broomhill is a two-form entry school for children aged seven to 11. The rebuild is part of the Department for Education’s Schools Rebuilding Programme. “Following a conditions assessment, it has been confirmed that the existing buildings are in poor condition with urgent action required”, consultants Q+A Planning said in a statement to Ashfield councillors.
The development will maintain the school’s current capacity of 300 pupils, 32 staff and published admission numbers.
The school has a small farm on its 2.3 ha site, located south of Hucknall town centre. It is set back from Broomhill Road, behind Ashfield South Children’s Centre and Butler’s Hill Infant School.
The school farm is said to provide “a valuable learning resource for students” and includes pigs, sheep, chickens and cows, kept in fenced paddocks to the south and north-east of the site.
Construction firm Tilbury Douglas intends to begin removing some trees before the bird nesting season, ahead of the start of preparatory work on 3 May. This first phase of the project will involve constructing a temporary working area, hoarding, signage and creating a temporary MUGA.
The next phase will be the construction of the new two-storey school building, with 10 classrooms, specialist rooms, a double height main hall, and offices. This second phase is expected to begin on 30 August.
Once the new building has been handed over to the school, hoarding and access roads will be rerouted and demolition of the exiting buildings and the creation of a permanent MUGA will commence. The contractors anticipate completing the project in November 2025.
Those dates are provision and subject to planning approval – the project management plan anticipated planning permission being applied for in December 2023, but the application was only submitted this week. A decision is expected by 17 July.
The planning statement says that the proposed design will locate the new school more centrally within the site, with car parking kept to the north-eastern periphery of the site adjacent to the Infant School.
“The new school comprises a two storey rectangular compact design that reduces the footprint of the building, whilst enhancing the wider school grounds by releasing areas currently occupied by built development”, the planning statement says. “It is to be constructed with brick at ground level and render at first floor.
“The school will contain general classrooms, a double height assembly hall, music and drama studio, specialist classroom provision and SEND resource facilities. Externally, the proposals include provision for an enhanced MUGA to the north of the school that will facilitate netball, tennis, football and basketball. The MUGA will not be floodlit.
“Other sports facilities will include mini tennis, netball and a five-a-side football pitch of equivalent size to the current provision.”
The new building will include a number of “sustainability measures” and be net zero carbon in operation. “The buildings thermal and air leakage performance will be enhanced to reduce the amount of electrical energy required to heat, cool and ventilate the building. The energy used will be offset by solar PV panels on the roof”, the planning statement said.
