New 200-place SEND school gets the green light
Gloucestershire County Council’s planning committee has unanimously supported plans for a new SEND school built on the south side of Arle Road in Cheltenham.
Roberts Limbrick Architects has designed the new school to offer 200 pupils aged 4–16 with tailored learning environments, small class sizes, and flexible approaches to support every child’s development.
Our client, Kier Group, appointed Rappor for interdisciplinary consultancy. This time that covered air quality, landscape planning and design, and transport planning.
Our air quality team carried out traffic emission modelling to ensure local air quality objectives are met and predict whether there’d be any potential changes in pollutant concentrations due to additional traffic associated with the scheme. This is important because children are more susceptible to air pollution while their bodies and organs are still developing,
By integrating a proactive Travel Plan, embedding active travel, and installing electric vehicle (EV) charging points, the development may actively support better air quality in the immediate area.
We’ve also undertaken an assessment that confirmed the positioning of the school kitchen and ventilation plant would have no negative odour impacts on pupils or existing residential properties nearby.
Our transport planning strategy ensures the off-site infrastructure is fit for purpose. We’ve established a dedicated zone that reduces traffic speeds and raises driver awareness, alongside additional traffic calming measures designed to reduce to ensure a safe and suitable access.
We believe that local educational provision should be an undeniable asset to its community. Our designs integrate significant sustainable transport and walking improvements which will enhance the active travel journey for employees and visitors, including crossings comprising tactile paving and dropped kerbs along Arle Road, and a vehicle crossover with Dutch-style kerbs at the school entrance to maintain pedestrian priority. These increase accessibility so that the local road network is safer and more connected for everyone.
Our landscape design prioritises a streamlined, secure experience. Recognising that many pupils will arrive via taxi, we’ve designed an on-site car park capable of accommodating up to 80 vehicles at a time. It brings the entire drop-off and pick-up process within the school boundary, eliminating off-site parking and ensuring that pupils begin their day in a calm, safe and controlled environment.
As the site is uniquely shaped by railway lines and major service easements, it’s led to a highly intentional layout involving distinct entrances and external zones for learners. This separation means pupils of different ages and needs will have dedicated spaces where they can thrive.
The heart of our design lies in its diverse outdoor environments, tailored to the sensory and educational requirements of pupils. From energetic active play zones to quiet spaces and outdoor classrooms, they’ve been thoughtfully designed to enhance wellbeing.
To the south of the playground, creating a large and native-species-rich wildflower meadow will secure a 10% biodiversity net gain (BNG) entirely within the site boundary. It means the school isn’t offsetting its environmental impact elsewhere and, instead, is actively repairing and enhancing the specific patch of land it occupies.
Rappor’s landscape planning and design team remains engaged on the project through RIBA stages 4-6.
Funded by Gloucestershire County Council, the school will meet the growing need for SEND places locally, delivering meaningful educational, social and community benefits.
