By Jamie Waller, Local Democracy Reporter
The buildings which were once home to a special educational needs school should be demolished, Nottinghamshire County Council says.
Up until 2020 Orchard School operated at Appleton Gate in Newark, catering for children aged between three and 19 years with a range of learning difficulties.
The school was forced to relocate to a new site at London Road due to the buildings’ deteriorating condition.
Since then the buildings have been vacant and are now reported to have reached the end of life.
The county council, which ran the school, has submitted planning permission to completely demolish the empty buildings.
This includes the two main school buildings and two additional structures.
The complex was originally built in the 1950s, and became the Newark Appletongate School in 1972 and then the specialist SEND school, Orchard School Newark in 2003.
The application states: “The state of the existing schools originally constructed in the 1950s, along with the grounds and related facilities, have been assessed and considered to be at end of life.
“The feasibility study concluded that the buildings are not suitable for refurbishment and are therefore in need of complete replacement”.
The application doesn’t contain any hints about what the site could be used for after demolition.
The public are now able to have their say on the proposals before the council’s planning committee makes a final decision.
The purpose-built Orchard School Newark on London Road has capacity for up to 170 students, and has a hydrotherapy pool, sensory rooms and an autism unit.
Nottinghamshire County Council approved the creation of a new SEND school in Mansfield last month to meet the growing demand from across the region.
It will take 160 children between seven and 19 years old with Autism Spectrum Disorder and other social, emotional and mental health difficulties.
Plans were approved for that new SEND school at the site of another now-demolished school on Ravensdale Road.