New SEND school approved for Accrington
The scheme will see the former Riley and Shutt offices on Malt Street converted into a specialist primary school for up to 25 SEND children
Plans to transform a vacant former office building into a special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) school have been approved by Hyndburn Borough Council.
The scheme will see the former Riley and Shutt offices on Malt Street converted into a specialist primary school for up to 25 SEND children, with facilities including classrooms, therapy spaces, a sensory garden, outdoor play areas and a dining hall.
Council planning officers recommended approval after concluding there was no realistic demand for the building’s continued use as offices and that the educational benefits of the proposal outweighed the loss of the employment site.
According to the approved plans, submitted by Sheila Wright Planning on behalf of Beacon Lights, the school will employ around 15 staff, and the works will involve the demolition of an external workshop to create an outdoor play area for its students.
In a report approving the scheme, Hyndburn planning officers said there was a recognised need for additional SEND provision in East Lancashire and attached ‘positive weight’ to the educational benefits of the development.
The report states: “The submitted Planning Statement suggests that there is a specific need for social, environmental and mental health education provision in East Lancashire.”
Planning officers also noted national planning policy requires ‘great weight’ to be given to the need to create schools.
A key issue for planners making the decision to convert the offices was whether the loss of employment space was justified.
The building takes its name from Riley and Shutt, a well-known Accrington engineering and industrial tooling business.
Company records show Riley & Shutt (Tools) Ltd was incorporated in April 1968 and operated from Malt Street for decades, supplying industrial cutting tools and engineering equipment.
The council was told the premises had been marketed for more than a year without attracting buyers or tenants. The building was initially placed on the market for £400,000 before the asking price was reduced several times. It was eventually sold in February this year for £100,000 below the original asking price.
Officers concluded that the site was a “poor quality employment site” and that there was “no current or likely future demand” for its continued use as offices.
The report states that the premises had been vacant for around 12 months and were accessed via relatively narrow residential roads, making them less attractive for modern commercial use.
Lancashire County Council’s highways officers raised no objections to the proposals but recommended measures to manage school traffic.
As a condition of approval, a traffic regulation order must be introduced on Malt Street to create short-stay parking for dropping off and collecting pupils.
A boundary wall alongside the car park must also be lowered to improve visibility and highway safety.
The school will be permitted to operate only between 7.30am and 6pm on weekdays and will not be open to pupils at weekends or on public holidays.
Planning officers concluded that noise associated with outdoor play and school transport movements would be limited due to the relatively small size of the school and high staff-to-pupil ratio.
The approval comes as Lancashire County Council publishes an update highlighting growing demand for SEND services across the county, ahead of the new school year.
The authority said the number of children receiving support through Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) has increased by 23 per cent over the past year. It also reported a 76 per cent reduction in the number of children waiting longer than 20 weeks for an assessment, alongside a 75 per cent increase in the SEND workforce.
The county council said it has invested more than £9m in educational psychology support, £2m to help mainstream schools support SEND pupils and created hundreds of additional specialist school places across Lancashire.
The new Accrington school is intended to help meet that continuing demand for specialist provision in East Lancashire, with applicant Beacon Lights previously describing the scheme as a “state-of-the-art” facility that would provide high-quality education and therapeutic support for children with special educational needs and disabilities.
Planning permission has now been granted subject to conditions.