A school has converted space previously used as a disabled charity centre into a place to teach special needs children.
Hurst Lodge School has turned the former Woodlands charity outreach centre in Crowthorne into a special needs primary campus, opening in September last year.
The site had previously offered support and respite for children with life-limiting conditions and their families.
Neighbours lodged 23 objections over traffic and parking after the school began teaching pupils with special educational needs in Years 3–6, and the school sought retrospective planning permission from Bracknell Forest Council.
Planning officer Sarah Fryer said no internal changes were needed, but the car park will be adjusted to manage school parking, drop-offs and pick-ups. Councillors visited the site with officers on 6 December.
Conservative councillor Dorothy Hayes MBE said: “On the site visit, I sat outside at pickup time, there was one person that came back to the car that did not come from the school site and then drove off.
“What was also brought to our attention was the fact that, because the children come from various places, not in our borough, that the majority of the vehicles were taxis. Not families.
“Can we be aware of what the movements are if we knew what the taxi movements are as well?”
Ms Fryer explained that pupils come from multiple local authorities — for example Bracknell Forest, West Berkshire and Reading — and that local authorities often arrange taxis for funded SEN placements.
Concerns about heavy traffic and dangerous parking had already been raised at a full council meeting in September by Cllr Tina Eberle. Cllr Tony Virgo warned about effects on the main Hurst Lodge building, which is protected as the former superintendent's house at Broadmoor.
Fryer’s report said the main building will not be altered, though ramps will be added to a portacabin opposite it. There were also worries about the loss of a lamppost on a traffic island; Fryer said the lamppost's future will be clarified in follow-up talks with the school.
Retrospective permission for the conversion was unanimously approved on 11 December. The approved application can be viewed on Bracknell Forest Council's planning portal under reference 24/00786/FUL.
James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporter
