Central Bedfordshire Council set to recommend renovation of Biggleswade Ivel Valley School - instead of new site
Renovating the current Ivel Valley School site in Biggleswade remains Central Bedfordshire Council’s preferred choice, rather than relocating special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision to a site east of the town.
But building a new special school at a cost of £66m was the favoured outcome of a statutory public consultation exercise held by Central Bedfordshire Council to assess how best to meet growing demand for these specialist places.
The school’s Hitchmead Road site is at full capacity and needs significant improvements. Six options were considered, including two as 1(a) and 1(b) covering the same land footprint to provide a further 85 places.
Ivel Valley is the only special school in the east of Central Bedfordshire, and needs around £800,000 of maintenance during the next three years, according to the council’s website.
CBC’s executive is due to consider the next stage today (Tuesday). Officers are recommending the committee agrees to progress a broader “option one” to accommodate 1(a) and 1(b), either of which is cheaper at £39m and £43m respectively.
A further statutory consultation on prescribed alterations would return to the executive in due course, explained a report to the committee.
“Ivel Valley School is operating at capacity within a built environment that’s no longer fit for the scale and complexity of need it supports. The main differences between the options relate to cost, deliverability, disruption, timescales and wider system impact,
“Option one delivers the required increase in specialist places to national standards, represents the most cost-effective solution and allows disruption to be actively managed through phased delivery under CBC’s direct control.
“While option four avoids construction on the current school site, it doesn’t eliminate disruption. The proposed new site is next to a large housing development that will be built out over a decade or more.
“This would involve ongoing construction activity outside the council’s remit, alongside significantly higher capital costs. It also carries greater delivery risk, building on a site lacking (essential) services.
“The recommendation to progress option one reflects a balanced judgement, after consideration of the consultation feedback. It discharges the authority’s wider responsibilities to deliver sufficient SEND places in a timely, affordable and sustainable way.
“Progression to statutory consultation will enable further engagement and challenge before any final decision is made. The executive is required to exercise judgement in balancing consultation responses with financial, operational and strategic considerations.
“This is particularly relevant where the cost differential between options is significant and any additional expenditure failing to deliver extra specialist school places.
“Having considered overall financial, educational and operational factors, with the feedback responses, officers recommend option one is progressed to statutory consultation.
“Option 1(a) and option 1(b) were presented separately, but share the same overall footprint and educational intent. It’s proposed these are taken forward as a single option.”
More than 20 classrooms would be delivered under 1(a) in a new building on the current Ivel Valley site, and 12 classrooms renovated into six larger areas, with some staff parking on unused land at Stratton School.
The 20-plus classrooms would be delivered across two new teaching blocks by 1(b), one on the current site and the other on the unused land at Stratton School, and the 12 classrooms would become six bigger spaces.
Councillors approved a total new budget for all special schools and additional resourced provisions (ARPs) of £60.71m in February 2025, to include the Ivel Valley project, added CBC’s website.