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.
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"It is an offence to disturb bats where that disturbance may affect the ability of those bats to survive, breed, rear or nurture their young. These findings have impacted the contractor, McAvoy, being able to demolish the current buildings on Spring Street ahead of the academy opening in September 2023."
The statement continued: "The new temporary accommodation is an existing school building with classrooms, a playground and canteen which our students will have exclusive access to. Subjects with specialist equipment such as science will be provided within the main Oasis Academy Brislington buildings."
Plans for the permanent secondary school and hundreds of new homes were finally approved just over a year ago, after years of campaigning from parents worried about the lack of school places in the area. The school along Silverthorne Lane, an industrial part of St Philips Marsh, will form part of the major Temple Quarter regeneration project.
The 2022 consent came after planning permission was granted by Bristol City Council back in August 2020. However, Environment Agency objections citing flood risk matters in the wider Temple Quarter triggered a government call-in - meaning a Planning Inspector had the final say following a public inquiry.
The long-awaited school was originally meant to open in 2018, but the planning delays set it back. Oasis Academy Temple Quarter will eventually have 1,600 places once all year groups are filled. That puts it up there with some of Bristol's biggest schools - St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School, for example, had 1,780 pupils on roll in the 2021/2022 academic year.
Temporary site in Bedminster
Last week plans submitted in March were validated by Bristol City Council, requesting permission for the demolition of existing single-storey buildings, located to west and south of a site along Spring Street. In their place, the plan is to build two two-storey and one single-storey temporary buildings.
These will house 13 classrooms, staff offices, a dining hall and kitchen. Plans state that they will be required "for two years from 2023 to September 2025" to serve the Oasis Temple Quarter School.
Pupil numbers will be phased across the two-year period - temporary accommodation is required for 180 secondary school pupils in September 2023, according to the application, with a further 180-pupil intake in September 2024, resulting in a total of 360 pupils.
A transport statement submitted to the council states that the site will have vehicular access from Spring Street, with a "non-motorised access point" on St Luke’s Road. Should pupils travel by car, a dedicated drop-off and pick-up area has been included within the proposal and will operate as a one-way system, plans state.
The design statement adds: "As a reflection of the urgency of the much-needed space, the proposed will be constructed using the modular offsite construction method which will speed up the process, allowing the applicant to take possession of the building sooner. Most of the work will be undertaken in a controlled factory environment resulting in the site work impact being reduced significantly with minimal disruption to the neighbouring buildings and environment."
The council has not yet set a decision date for the plans. Demand for secondary school places has seen a desperate shortage of Year 7 places in the city, with some schools asked to take extra pupils to meet the need.
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