New £11m primary school in Waterlooville approved and set to open in 2025

The council has agreed to spend £11.4 million building the new school at the West of Waterlooville Major Development Area, which was granted planning permission in 2012 by Winchester City Council and Havant Borough Council.

As part of the development, around 2,550 new homes are being built, along with mixed-use and amenity space at Newlands, also known as the Berewood estate. It was decided that two schools would be built along with the development in the coming years. The first was Berewood Primary School, which opened in September 2014 on the north of the site, and a second was needed on the south of the development.

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In October 2023, Hampshire County Council’s regulatory committee gave the school planning permission despite members’ concerns about the installation of gas boilers. The county council’s executive member for education, Cllr Steve Forster, has now approved the recommendation to spend £11.4 million building the school, which will be in the hands of Morgan Sindall Construction. Officers said that the school will be ready to open in September 2025.

Cllr Forster said: “It is encouraging to see this coming on. I’m really pleased that the query on the rights of way has been resolved. I know these things and the legal issues sitting behind them can take a considerable time.”

The University of Chichester Academy Trust will run the school and be responsible for managing, repairing, maintaining, and insuring the building and site. The school will have eleven classes, three group rooms, a specialist practical classroom, one-to-one facilities, a break-out space, a kitchen, accessible toilets, and a hygiene room. A total of two motorcycle and 31 car parking spaces will be required, of which two will be accessible bays.