14-classroom school extension at St Wilfrids Catholic School, Southgate, Crawley

“St. Wilfrid’s Catholic School occupies an area of approximately 68,000sqm, located to the south west of Crawley, bounded to the west by the A23, Goffs Park golf course and woodlands to the north and east, and residential development to the south. The primary vehicular entrance to the site is via Saint Wilfrid’s Way which provides access to staff and visitor parking.”

“The existing building is a two-storey building laid out in a horseshoe style shape. The western curved wing is teaching accommodation arranged over two floors with the core facilities including Sports, Dining, Assembly and Worship provided in the eastern wing and two temporary classrooms to the west of the main school entrance. There is a sunken tarmac playing surface to the north of the building. A fenced hard court tennis area is located to the West of the site.”

“CR/2006/0452/FUL - DEMOLITION OF ALL EXISTING SCHOOL BUILDINGS AND ERECTION OF NEW SCHOOL BUILDING, PLAYING FIELDS AND EXTERNAL SPORTING AREA AND PROVISION OF NEW ACCESS ROAD, CAR PARK AND SCHOOL SERVICE AREA. Permitted…”

“CR/2022/0432/FUL - PROPOSED TEMPORARY CLASSROOM BLOCK ON EXISTING AREA OF AMENITY GRASSLAND, WITH ASSOCIATED STEPS, RAMP AND PAVING. Awaiting decision.”

“The school currently operates as a 6FE School with 6 additional pupils per year with a Published Admission Number (PAN) of 186. There were two bulge classes taken in 2023 and 2024 which increased the PAN to 210 for these two intake years. There is a sixth form with a capacity for 120 pupils per year although at present there are 190 pupils across but the year groups. Therefore there are a total of 1172 pupils currently at the school.”

“The school was originally built as a 5FE school, accommodating 949 pupils. The decision was taken by West Sussex County Council in 2019 to expand the school to a 6FE. This has now taken place and the additional pupils are at the school. As a result, the increase in pupil numbers has caused considerable pressure on indoor space, both teaching and communal with the school deficient in classroom space and some pupils are in make-shift accommodation.”

“The Committee then considered the application. A Committee member noted that condition 5 required a Dust Management Plan be submitted and sought detail of the content of this as it was deemed essential to protect the students’ health during construction. In response, the Officer confirmed that the plan would be required to be approved by the local planning authority before works began.”

“In response to a query from a Committee member, it was confirmed that the construction was estimated to take approximately two years.”

“The Committee then moved to a vote on the recommendation set out in the report. The recommendation was moved by Councillor Rana as the Chair and seconded by Councillor Bidwell as the Vice-Chair.”

“Permit subject to the conditions set out in report PES/494b.”