Burgess Hill's Woodlands Meed College Re-establishment Continues

Rebuilding the Woodlands Meed College on its existing playing field, using £20m of County Council funding, is going ahead on schedule, the local authority said — though an alternative site may be used, in the end.

With much scrutiny over the plans coming from parents of students and from councillors, the County Council says regular project board and client engagement meetings have been taking place virtually between the local authority and the College's governors.

A schedule of accommodation including the type and size of rooms that are required has been agreed by both parties. 

It follows the council cabinet decision in May this year, which approved £20m of funding for a new building to replace the College's existing facilities at its Birchwood Grove site in Burgess Hill.

According to the council, the project's design team is now working on designs for the new building as well as the sports facilities and outside areas, ahead of submitting a planning application, expected to be made in mid November. 

Alongside this work, and in discussion with the College's governors and head teacher, the Council has agreed to a request from them to consider an alternative site in Burgess Hill, which is less constrained than the playing field site, to see if it would better meet the needs of the students, now and into the future.

The Cabinet Member for Finance, Jeremy Hunt, has approved an additional £0.1m for this work over the next four to six months and the Cabinet Member for Education and Skills, Nigel Jupp, has approved the commissioning of the feasibility study at the vacant, County Council-owned Jane Murray Way site.

Mr Jupp said:

"We are committed to improving the facilities for all the College's students at Woodlands Meed." 

The local authority has stated that any additional work to explore an alternative site will take place in parallel with the preparatory work that is ongoing to rebuild the College on the its existing playing field and additional funds have been allocated.

The council believes it will, therefore, not impact on the timeline for that work.

Mr. Jupp continued:

"We look forward to continuing to work with the College's governors and head teacher to deliver, as soon as is possible, a new building that provides a safe and happy learning environment for all its pupils and staff."