Plans for second Waverley school off the table after parents 'sold a dream of walking children to school'
Plans for a second primary school at Waverley have been formally removed from the development agreement, despite dozens of children being refused places at the estate’s existing school.
Waverley Junior Academy opened in 2020 and was later expanded to accommodate 210 new places, bringing total capacity to 675 pupils, with a second school only required if the development exceeds 3,250 homes.
Six new classrooms, two libraries and a dedicated nursery were built to boost capacity.
RMBC's education service has now agreed to the school's removal from Waverley development agreement, the scheme based on a reduced number of homes planned for the site.
Lisa Brooks, development manager at Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council, told a meeting of the planning regulatory board on August 27 that the site will now deliver 3,022 homes when complete, 2,015 of which are currently built and occupied.
A planning application approved by RMBC during the meeting sought to remove references for a second school from the development's Section 106 legal agreement, which ensures developers provide financial sums or direct infrastructure works to support developments such as affordable housing, education and green spaces
In a report, council officers stressed that the decision had effectively already been approved in 2022 and the latest application was intended to consolidate the amended wording.
However, the proposal attracted 83 objections from residents, who said the existing academy was already oversubscribed.
Residents said affected children have to travel to other schools generating additional car journeys, while families living in earlier phases of the housing development could lose out to those in newer homes built closer to the academy.
Councillor Jamie Baggaley who represents Waverley, objected to the plans, telling the meeting: "Residents have heard the promises for years, yet mainly feel their lived experience tells a very different story."
He added that residents had been 'sold a dream of being able to walk to their local primary school', and that many residents had not applied for their children to attend Waverley Junior Academy, due to the number of applications being refused.
According to Coun Baggaley, 86 children from the catchment area had their applications refused between 2022-2024, until the school was extended in 2025.
"These are families, these are people, these are children," he added.
Jane Beckett, representing Harworth, the regeneration company behind the Waverley development told, the planning meeting that the changes had been made 'as a result of over eight years' work' with Rotherham and Sheffield councils, adding that the application 'doesn't change the obligations on site'.
"We are really empathetic with the residents of Waverley because we know this submission was unfortunately timed with the school place announcement," she said.
Planning officers said the educational provision itself was not being reconsidered through the latest application, as the changes had already been approved.
The application was approved by vote.