Concern of residents over '˜giant shoebox' Leeds school plan

Dixons Trinity Chapeltown had applied to build a new three-storey school building off Roundhay Road to be used by pupils aged 4-16.

At the last plans panel meeting, concerns were raised about the size and scale of the site, as well as its proximity to nearby homes. Revised proposals include moving the building three metres to the west, to be further away from nearby houses.

Chapeltown resident Bill Phelps said: “We want the best possible education for our children. (Dixons Trinity) say they want a through-school, but both their schools in Bradford have a definite separation between primary and secondary. They are trying to cram both schools into one giant shoebox that is too small. This seems to have been driven by costs.”

A spokeswoman on behalf of the applicants said: “We really did feel we presented the best solution for what is a complicated site to develop. We had an understanding of members’ concerns and that is what we wanted to address.”

Councillors voted to delegate the decision to planning officers, meaning if officers are not satisfied sufficient changes have been made, the plans will come back before the panel.