Decision details

To ask the Cabinet Member to approve the statutory proposal published by Wiltshire Council on 20 January 2022. The notice proposed the enlargement of Mere School to provide a 1.5 Form of Entry (1.5FE), 315 place primary school. It is proposed to permanently increase the Published Admission Number (PAN) from 1 September 2022 when an increase of 15 additional pupils will be admitted into the Reception Year. Up to 45 Reception age pupils will be admitted in each subsequent year.

Following consultation, I give notice that I have made the decision set out in the attached report.

This decision was published on 18 March 2022 and will come into force on 28 March 2022.

The LA has a statutory duty to provide sufficient school places across Wiltshire and projections indicate a need for an additional 0.5 Form of Entry (up to 105 places) in Mere.

Mere School already has more than 30 pupils in some year groups and is full to the current capacity of 210 pupils. At the time of writing, there are still around 100 houses with planning permission to be built in the school’s catchment area which will generate approximately 30 additional primary age pupils.

Pupil forecasts, calculated summer 2021, indicate that numbers are expected to continue to grow at the school, with an increasing shortfall of spaces if the school does not expand. Expansion of school capacity is needed to meet the forecast demands of the growing population in the area, and to allow for population fluctuations and movement into the area by new families, including the new homes to be built in the town.

The expansion project at Mere School will provide 105 additional places (0.5FE) from September 2022 to address the anticipated deficit.

Wiltshire Council widely consulted on the proposal to expand Mere School to provide 1.5 forms of entry (315 places). Consultation with a range of stakeholders took place between 1 November 2021 and 29 November 2021 and preceded publication of the statutory proposals on 20 January 2022. The Public Notice period of four weeks ended on 17 February 2022.

No objections were received during the above consultation periods. Mere Town Council confirmed their support of the proposal to expand Mere School and hoped that the increased car parking and drop off zones would succeed in addressing local highway issues. Two local residents also wrote in support of the proposals, one recognised the need for the additional places to meet local population growth. The other supported the proposal but also raised issues regarding the condition and road markings on local roads which have been passed to the highways service.