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Head warns school cannot handle plan for new homes

Ben RobinsonLocal Democracy reporter
Google An exterior of the entrance to a high school. There are gates and a hedge which lead into the school's car park. A brick building is just in shot on the right.Google
Head teacher Helen Watts said her school could not accommodate more pupils if hundreds of new homes were built in the village, between Norwich and Great Yarmouth

A head teacher is warning hundreds of parents that building a new housing estate next to her high school will create "unsustainable strain" on its resources.

Helen Watts, executive principal of Acle Academy, in Norfolk, which has more than 700 pupils, said it could not accommodate more children.

Norfolk Homes is consulting on plans to build 135 properties off South Walsham Road.

The land has already been earmarked for up to 340 homes in the Greater Norwich Local Plan, which sets out where development should take place in and around the city.

Norfolk Homes A map showing where the new housing estate could be built. It shows two fields with the one on the right outlined in red, showing where the new homes could be builtNorfolk Homes
The area inside the red border is where Norfolk Homes are looking to build 135 properties

In a letter sent to parents, Watts said the classrooms, dining areas and sports fields were at full capacity.

The school currently has 709 students on its register, with a maximum capacity of 711, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"Adding significant numbers of new facilities to our immediate area without expanding our school will create an unsustainable strain on our resources," she said.

"Local planning policy explicitly dictates that developers must liaise with Acle Academy to safeguard land and accommodate future growth.

"We want to welcome new families to our village, but it must be done sustainably. Let's work together to ensure our children do not lose out on the space and facilities they deserve."

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Watts added the housing should not go ahead unless the developer guaranteed dedicated funding for new classrooms, and she urged parents to have their say.

Sheringham-based Norfolk Homes is running its consultation on the proposals until 30 October.

The company said views from the public would form part of its planning application, which it would submit to Broadland District Council.

As well as new homes, a new link road through the estate will also be created.

Parish council papers suggest more than 260 homes were built in the village between 2014 and 2023.

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