Wiltshire school submits planning application for Dyson-funded expansion
It'll be funded by James Dyson
A Wiltshire school has submitted plans for a major expansion funded by entrepreneur James Dyson.
Malmesbury Primary School wants to build a new science, technology, engineering, art and maths centre, along with nine additional classrooms and a multi-use hall to cater for an influx of new students.
The science centre will be created inside the existing school building.
The £6 million donation from the Dyson Foundation was accepted by the Conservative government in January 2024.
Wiltshire Council – which was then also a Conservative administration – welcomed the contribution but said it had concerns about how the new facilities would impact nearby schools.
The Department for Education said it was happy with the arrangement, so long as Malmesbury Primary School shared the new science facilities with neighbouring schools.
Now an application for planning permission has been submitted to Wiltshire Council.
The extension will allow the school to increase its capacity from 420 to 630 pupils. The school says expansion is required to accommodate a predicted influx of children from the new 170-unit housing development at Backbridge Farm.
The land for expansion has been secured via a legal agreement with housing developer Persimmon Homes. However, this agreement expires in October 2031 and if it is not used the land will revert to the developer.
The school says that if it cannot expand “many Malmesbury children will continue to be displaced to surrounding village schools.”
The plans include the construction of a new vehicular access for staff and 24 parking spaces to the north-west corner of the site.
The main vehicular access for parents and visitors will remain from the south east, and the three pedestrian accesses will be maintained. There will also be new stands for cycles and scooters.
Announced in 2023, the £6 million funding is coming from the charitable arm of Dyson, whose aim is to inspire the engineers of the future.
A quarter of children currently enrolled at the school have a parent who works at Dyson, whose global HQ and research, design & development campus is located near to the school.
A planning decision is expected early in the new year, and the new facilities could be ready for pupils by September 2027.