A SHINFIELD school is set to get the green light for its plans to expand – but neighbours are concerned about “extremely difficult” traffic issues at the site.
Bosses at Crosfields School, which is a co-educational private school on Shinfield Road, want to create a “modern” building for GCSE students, meaning the age range of students would increase to include 14, 15 and 16-year-olds.
This could mean an extra 300 hundred pupils and 30 more teachers at the school by 2024, should plans get the all-clear.
But this is a cause of concern for neighbours and Shinfield Parish Council, who are worried about the increased traffic new students would bring.
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One commented: “We object to the proposal based on the following.
“It is currently not unusual for the traffic to be effectively stationary on the Shinfield Road for an extended period of time in both the morning and the evening due to people accessing the school.
“This makes it extremely difficult for local residents to get on and off of their driveways and it has to be said that many people accessing the school show little courtesy to those wishing to enter the stream of traffic from their residential driveway.”
Architects have developed a transport assessment which re-orders access to the north entrance of the site to “eliminate the potential for traffic conflicts”.
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Despite neighbours’ concerns, Wokingham Borough Council (WBC) planning chiefs say they are satisfied with the efforts being made to avoid traffic issues at the site.
Building the new learning space would mean knocking down the ‘White Building’, which is a heritage asset said to be from the 18th century.
WBC experts say the building’s demolition would be “regrettable”, but have recommended the plans get the go-ahead.
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The development would be split into two phases, with the initial stage focusing on building a new reception area and cafe and performance space.
Classrooms and offices would take up the top two floors of the three-storey space.
Phase two would involve building teaching spaces on the space vacated by the White building.
Councillors are set to decide on the plans at a meeting of WBC’s planning committee on Wednesday, February 12, having pulled the item from consideration at the council's last planning meeting.
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