Decision details

The County Council has a statutory duty to provide sufficient primary and secondary school places for all children who need a place.

Homes England has secured outline planning permission for a new 3500 home development on land known as the Northern Arc of Burgess Hill.  As part of the overall plan, a site for a new secondary school has been set aside to ensure sufficient secondary school places to serve the development. In addition, a financial contribution of £18.159m has been secured through Section 106 Agreements to contribute towards the construction costs of the new school. 

All Year 7 places at local secondary schools are full for September 2022 and projections indicate a significant shortfall of secondary places in the area in future as the development is built out. A new 6FE secondary school is therefore required to provide for both the increasing population in the area and the additional need generated by the development.

Following completion of a feasibility study, design of the new secondary school has now progressed up to and including RIBA Stage 2 in preparation of a reserved matters planning application to Mid Sussex District Council as the determining authority. Approval is now sought for allocation of the funding to enable the project to proceed.

Target date for the opening of the school remains September 2024, although it is recognised that to enable this it may be necessary to provide temporary accommodation for a short period of time.

The secondary school will be designed to deliver against the County Council’s commitments as set out in the Climate Change Strategy.

The Cabinet Member for Learning and Skills has approved the following:

(1) That a budget of £53.845m be allocated to enable completion of the design; a procurement process for contractor appointment; submission of a reserved matters planning application and the delivery of a new secondary school to serve the Burgess Hill Northern Arc and wider locality. This is in addition to the £3.215m previously approved by decision LS03(21/22) which funded progression of the design giving a total budget of £57.060m.

(2) That all further decisions in relation to this project are delegated to the Assistant Director (Property and Assets), in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Learning and Skills, to enter into a contract or contracts which will allow the delivery of the project within the overall agreed budget.

(3) To delegate authority to the Assistant Director (Property and Assets), in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Learning and Skills, to enter into an agreement to rent temporary accommodation for up to one year (if required) to support this project within a financial limit of £900,000.

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