Hanwood Park school gets approval

The government has finally confirmed that the new secondary school at Hanwood Park will go ahead, after years of uncertainty and complaints that families were living in ‘limbo’.

Hanwood Park is one of the nation’s largest planned garden communities located to the east of Kettering. It was given planning permission in 2011 to build out 5,500 new homes.

Plans for a dedicated free school on the new estate were first approved by the Department for Education (DfE) in 2021, with the promise that it would be the town’s first new secondary school in a generation.

Kettering MP Rosie Wrighting has welcomed the recent confirmation from ministers, stating that she had consistently raised the issue with Bridget Phillipson, Secretary of State for Education.

The approval announcement comes as the government has confirmed that many other new free school projects across the country will be dropped. The Labour government paused the previous commitments to deliver the new mainstream free schools last year to launch a review into whether they were needed or offered value for money.

It claimed that the projects that will be progressed are “where they’re needed most” and provide a unique offer for students who would otherwise not get it.

Labour MP Rosie said: “I know local people are concerned about pressure on already over-subscribed secondary schools in Kettering, and I’ve worked tirelessly to raise these concerns and lobby ministers for Hanwood Park School to proceed.

“I will keep pushing for an opening date to be confirmed and will update constituents as soon as I have more information to share.”

Original hopes flagged an opening date of 2024 for the Hanwood Park School, however for many years there was no formal confirmation from government on whether it would be allowed to progress.

Chris Langdon, Project Director at Hanwood Park, has also enthusiastically welcomed the news.

He said: “On behalf of our residents, the wider community, and ourselves, we are absolutely delighted with this confirmation.

“Having worked very closely with the Department for Education, Orbis Education Trust, and North Northamptonshire, we have a real understanding of the significance of this project.

“We are mobilised and ready to get moving, so alongside our new facilities coming forward such as the new David Lloyd Club, this decision is another clear vote of confidence in the sustainability and ongoing success of Hanwood Park.”

A motion went to a North Northants full council meeting yesterday (Thursday, December 11) before the announcement, which saw the authority come together in cross-party support to request the leader write to the Secretary of State for Education and the MP for Kettering to urgently seek a formal decision on the school.

Cllr Ben Williams (Green, Ise) proposed the motion to the chamber, stating that the need for clarity on the project was both “genuine and urgent”.

“This uncertainty is now having a real impact. Secondary school places in Kettering are forecast to be under significant pressure and demand for SEND provision continues to rise.

“The children growing up in Hanwood Park cannot wait indefinitely and this council cannot plan effectively while we remain in limbo.”

Speaking at the meeting, local dad David Wilmot also raised his own concerns about the “catastrophic failure” if the secondary school was not delivered.

“This isn’t just about brick and mortar, it’s about a potentially broken promise,” he told the chamber.

“Our local secondary schools are already nearing capacity – a situation exacerbated by the continued rapid growth of the Hanwood Park development itself.

“The delay means that by 2030, hundreds of children who deserve a local high-quality education will be forced to travel further, clogging our roads, disrupting family life and placing an unbearable and crushing strain on our already stretched existing schools.

“I’m here to act as a voice of my neighbours, worried parents, frustrated teachers and children whose futures hang in the balance. We demand an immediate, clear and non-negotiable timeline for the planning, approval and construction of Hanwood Park secondary school.”

The demand for clarity on the project was also backed by Cllr Elizabeth Wright, the Reform UK executive member for children and education.

She said: “My responsibility is to ensure that we have the right school places available at the right time. From the council’s perspective, all the groundwork for Hanwood Park school is in place. 

“If progress is being made, then it should be confirmed properly.”

The motion received unanimous support from all councillors at the meeting. NNC will now seek further clarity on a clear timescale for the delivery of the school, which will be run by the Orbis Education Trust.

Today, the Government has also confirmed that it will be investing at least £3bn in high needs capital funding over the next four years to create at least 50,000 high needs places in mainstream schools across England.