Plans have been submitted to build classrooms that will temporarily house Bristol's huge new school - but the first cohort of pupils won't start off there. Oasis Academy Temple Quarter will eventually open near Temple Meads, but planning delays meant it had intended to open in September 2023 at a temporary base in Bedminster.
A planning application has now been brought forward for that site, but the discovery of roosting bats there meant that school bosses had to draw up a Plan C. Parents have been informed that its sister site, the Oasis Academy Brislington campus, will now provide alternative temporary accommodation "from September 2023 to December 2023".
A statement on the school's website confirms: "After carrying out a feasibility study for the temporary site on Spring Street [in Bedminster], the Department for Education (DfE) has identified that the current buildings may be home to bats. Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act bats and their roosts must be protected.
