22 hours Ago By [email protected] (Joe Harbert)
A row between a council and developers over who owns land to complete a new school’s access road has forced back-up plans to be drawn up to ensure it opens in time this autumn. Construction is progressing at the Chilmington Green Secondary School in Ashford and chiefs at Kent County Council insist it is on schedule to welcome pupils in September. But the authority says it stepped in, claiming housing developer Hodson, which is the lead house builder for the 5,750-home masterplan, had not completed the vital and necessary infrastructure work.
In the meantime, KCC has also worked up plans and submitted an application for a new teaching block at the school’s current site off Jemmett Road in South Ashford in case the new facility is not ready in time. New access for the school is being built to help combat congestion during busy periods, known as Access C, and tackle issues such as poor surfaces on existing surrounding roads. A road called The Avenue, which is under construction, will connect Chilmington Green Road to a new roundabout on the A28 at the Sandy Lane junction.
Existing access between Chilmington Green Road and the A28 will then be blocked off. KCC said Hodson was due to carry out these highway infrastructure works, which need to be completed before the school can open. But a spokesman said: “Hodson started work to provide these but has not completed them.
“KCC has therefore stepped in and expects the works to be completed by the end of August 2025. “The planning application for additional temporary classrooms has been submitted as a precautionary measure to ensure there is sufficient accommodation at the site in Jemmett Road, in case there are delays and the school needs to remain there for a little longer.” Responding to KCC, a spokesperson for Hodson confirmed it could not complete the final stages of the work for Access C because it does not own the land.
They added: "The school access has been constructed onto Chilmington Green Road, which is a public highway and the school can be entered and exited by vehicles using this road which is accessed via the A28 Ashford Road. "Practically, there are no ‘real world’ ingress or egress issues to the secondary school. "There is, however, an outstanding 2017 planning condition that says the school should be accessed via Access C.
This condition can very simply be varied by way of a Section 73 planning application. "Despite there being no clear need for Access C, the works on our land were completed as far as possible by October 2023. "However, we were unable to complete the final 12 weeks of the construction works, including a section of Access C, because the works are on the public highway, on land outside of our ownership.
” The developer added that it had not been able to agree on final legal agreements with KCC, meaning its contractor could not access the public highway to complete the works and leaving KCC to carry them out instead. The firm said it would continue to work with KCC to ensure Chilmington Green Secondary School opens on time. KCC’s back-up plan - should the new site not be finished - includes the construction of a 618sqm two-storey building comprising eight classrooms on the school’s existing site.
A KCC spokesperson added: “This year’s planning application is for eight classrooms which would support a further 180 pupils [and] 450 in total. “The new school is being built on behalf of the Department for Education, not KCC. However, we have been informed the works are on track to be completed by the contractor, Bowman and Kirkland, ready for September 2025.
” News of the difficulties completing the access road comes as new images inside the school buildings under construction were revealed. A behind-the-scenes tour was given to school staff earlier this month, showing the scale of the classrooms and communal areas. Work on the school started last February almost two years after the plans were first approved and 450 pupils from Year 7 to Year 9 are expected to transfer to the new site in September.
Eventually, the school will host 1,140 pupils aged between 11 and 18. They will have access to state-of-the-art facilities to support their learning, including specialist spaces like labs, a drama studio, DT and art rooms and PE facilities in a total of 32 classrooms. It is part of the Chilmington Green scheme which includes 5,750 homes, four primary schools and shops alongside healthcare and sports facilities.
Hodson is also under scrutiny over its request to drop millions of pounds of agreed infrastructure and community investments required. as part of its planning permission. It was revealed in December the developer wants to ditch more than £50 million of funding - including the £30m major road improvement to dual Chart Road near the Cobbs Wood industrial estate between the Matalan and ‘Tank’ roundabouts.
Find out about planning applications that affect you by visiting the Public Notice Portal . Although the housebuilder signed the legally binding contract - known as a Section 106 agreement - the plans have now thrown the dualling project into doubt and are being discussed at a Planning Inspectorate inquiry this week. The inspector is due to conclude proceedings on Thursday before making a final written decision in the coming weeks.
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