AN appeal has been launched after plans for a special needs school near Worcester were rejected.

Our Place Group already runs a small school for 10 children and a residential care home called Lakeside, at The Orchard in Bransford.

The group wants to expand the school to provide for up to 45 children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

In plans submitted to Malvern Hills District Council (MHDC), Our Place Group said the school is currently permitted to cater only for residents of the care home.

“However, the defined need for suitable specialist school provision has increased significantly and this is confirmed by the Worcestershire Local Area SEND Accelerated Progress Plan,” it says in its planning statement.

“The use of the site as a day school will also mean that the area will not be used outside of normal school hours or at the weekends.

“Overall, there will be no adverse impact on neighbour amenity and the development will not be unduly overbearing.”

“Aside from the car park extension, the existing built structure of the site will remain unchanged and will simply be repurposed internally for school use as detailed by the proposed floor plans.”

But neighbours had concerns, with John and Anna Watkins saying they had seen the property changes from a “charming bungalow” to the “monstrosity” it is today.

“MHDC first granted it permission to [build] a small residential school for eight pupils in 2009, on the condition that it was not a day school,” they said.

Residents also complained about the noise that came from the site and the amount of traffic that would need to make its way to and from the school from what is already a busy stretch of the A4103.

Rejecting the plans, the council said: “The proposal is located in an open countryside location where travel options other than the private car are severely limited.

“There is no reason that is specified as to why this site has been chosen over alternatives more suitably located in urban areas or adjacent to settlements.

“While it is not disputed that there is a demand for Special Education Need places, the local planning authority has an obligation to ensure that facilities such as this are located in the most sustainable locations.”

Now an appeal has been made, the future of the site is now in the hands of a planning inspector.