Over 100 autistic children in Mole Valley impacted by Dorking SEND school planning wrangle
It’s been revealed that over a hundred autistic children who live in Mole Valley have to travel outside of the area for their education, often travelling long distances. This information has been provided by the County Council in reaction to the significant legal setback on the new Betchworth Vale Academy in Reigate Road Dorking, where planning permission is expected to be quashed.
The proposal would then reconsulted on by the District Council and then be ‘redetermined’ by MVDC’s Development Management Committee. This could be a decision to refuse, or to permit depending what the officers recommend and the councillors decide at an unspecified later meeting date.
This saga has been going on since about 2018.
Clare Curran, Lead Cabinet Member for Children and Families at Surrey County Council said: “We are disappointed with Mole Valley’s decision not to defend the judicial review. The proposed development of Betchwood Vale Academy supports our ambition for Surrey to be a place that offers opportunities for autistic people to live healthy and fulfilling lives, where their contributions to local communities are welcomed, supported and valued, and no-one is left behind. Currently, more than 100 autistic children who live in Mole Valley and require a specialist place go to school out of their district, meaning they spend a long time every day travelling long distances between home and school. This doesn’t allow these children and young people to stay connected to their local communities and learn to travel shorter distances independently, which will ultimately impact their long-term outcomes, and supports our view that the proposed Betchwood Vale Academy is critical to achieving Surrey’s ambition that autistic children are educated closer to home.
We’ve been advised by the (Government) Department for Education of their ongoing commitment to deliver Betchwood Vale Academy in full once a positive planning application has been confirmed, and Surrey County Council is in support of this.”
Leatherhead North district councillor Keira Vyvyan-Robinson commented “As a member of DMC (and the original proposer of the motion to approve the planning application) I’m pleased to hear that the application is likely to return to be reconsidered once these legal issues have been resolved….I understand that due legal process must be followed and the quickest way to get these plans back on track is to seek to quash the decision, get the necessary reports carried out and then reconsider the application in light of those reports.”
Mole Valley deputy chief executive’s decision to abandon its defence of one objector’s Judicial Review of the permission already granted for Betchworth Vale was on the basis this was quicker and cheaper. That one single resident has succeeded in possibly a two year delay to the school, originally hoped to open in September 2023. MVDC has made clear that three councillors, Cooksey, Cooksey and Wright, as Dorking South representatives, were made aware of the Judicial Review application and kept in the loop on what the planning department was doing about it. But the decision to not to defend the Judicial Review was taken by the most senior planning officer and no one else.
MVDC has stressed that after the DMC decision in March 2023, the objections to the proposal from residents did not stop, and while eventually MVDC completed its formal decision notice in November 2023, there was a Judicial Review looming.
MVDC issued a statement late on Tuesday 9 April as follows:
“A decision to approve a planning application for the construction of a Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) School on Reigate Road, Dorking, was made by MVDC’s Development Management Committee in March 2023. Shortly after this MVDC was notified of an application by a single claimant to the High Court challenging its decision on two grounds: application of the habitat regulations and failure to consider further objections to the proposed development received in the period between the Committee meeting and a decision notice being issued.
“MVDC recognises the increased need for SEND school provision in Surrey and the challenges and disappointment that a delay causes to local communities. After discussing the matter with the Department for Education, which is overseeing the proposed SEND School development, MVDC decided that the most time – and cost – efficient way to progress this matter would be to ask the Court to quash its original planning decision and for the application to be decided again. This will allow MVDC to ensure that there is no future potential for legal challenge and that once a new decision is made, if it is to again approve the application, then the delivery of the school can start swiftly.
“MVDC is working as quickly as possible to get a decision from the Court. Once that is made, MVDC will reconsult on the planning application and soon after return the application to the Development Management Committee to make the planning decision.
“MVDC will provide further updates once confirmation has been received that the Court’s decision is to quash the application, and indications of timings for the next steps.”
Leatherhead Living 