Beech Lodge School receives planning permission for new site

Beech Lodge School is set to move to a new site near Maidenhead Thicket after it received planning permission from the Government.

A planning inquiry was held earlier this year after the Royal Borough's decision to approve the plans for the new campus was calling in by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, but the plans were formally approved yesterday (Thursday).

A document outlining the decision said a 'compelling need for the school has been demonstrated' to justify building in the greenbelt, and the plans were of a 'pleasing design and of an appearance that might be expected in a rural setting'.

Daniela Szmigielska Shanly, the school’s founder, tweeted this morning: "And the news is......WE GOT IT!!!Thank you EVERYONE for all your incredible support!!"

The school is currently based in Honey Lane, Hurley.

It first opened in 2013, to teach vulnerable children who, although not deemed as having ‘special needs’, have struggled to adapt to mainstream education for a variety of reasons.

In October 2014, plans for a new campus on eight acres of Stubbings land, north of Maidenhead Thicket, with space for almost 100 pupils, were approved by the Royal Borough, but the application was called in following an appeal by Burchetts Green Village Association and Bisham Parish Council.