Delay to new Fenland primary school sparks need for mobile classrooms

Children due to start a newly built Fenland primary school in September will find themselves learning in mobile classrooms thanks to a delay in building work.

Cambridgeshire County Council has written to Fenland District Council asking for its views on a retrospective application to site a seven-bay temporary classroom on the Cromwell Community College site until February next year.

A design and access statement drawn up on behalf of the county council, whose own planning committee will determine the application, explains the mobile is needed for children due to start the new school, which is currently being built on the Cromwell site, in September.

It explains: "The mobile classroom is required until February 2021, as a new primary school is planned to be built on the site of the existing Cromwell Community College which was originally due to be completed in September 2020.

"Due to there being a delay in the project programme, the new primary school will not be complete for this date, but it is anticipated that the school will be complete for January 2021.

"There are a number of reception aged pupils forecast to start at the new primary school in September 2020. As a result, installation of temporary accommodation is required at the earliest opportunity to ensure there’s accommodation in place for the resumption of normal school operation. When the new school is complete, the pupils will be moved to the new school accommodation."

The new school facility will transform the Cromwell Community College making it the first educational establishment in Cambridgeshire to offer an all through education from four to 18 years.

The site in Wenny Road is being developed with a new purpose-built primary school and pre-school facilities. Earlier this year local people were offered the chance to get a sneak of peek at what would be on offer with a series of tours of the site.

The new provision will help to combat the growing need for primary school places in Chatteris and the surrounding area. The first phase will create 210 primary school places.

The school will open this autumn (covid-19 permitting) with an initial intake of one-year group as a reception class and grow year on year until it reaches capacity.

It’s anticipated the Cromwell Community College, part of The Active Learning Trust, will become a model for other schools in the area considering expanding to offer an all-through education. A second phase will allow for a further 210 pupil expansion of the primary school element.

The primary phase will have brand new classrooms and access to the college’s facilities which include a food technology block, design technology resources and sports amenities.