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We wish to support the plan KN2 and the plan for the new Arden School. Arden is an amazing school and currently one of the main reasons people move into the area. Current facilities, however, are not representative of the quality of education going on within its walls. It would be vitally important for the community to have improved facilities at Arden even without the planned housing development. With the new housing plans a new school and primary school will be absolutely necessary.

The new schools will:

· Meet the educational needs of both primary and secondary pupils in the settlement in a single location, utilising shared and modern facilities;
· Provide a purpose-built educational setting to replace the out-dated, ageing fabric of the existing Arden Academy, much of which is increasingly expensive to maintain and service, energy inefficient, has poor infrastructure and a lack of community facilities;
· Deliver improved and modern infrastructure that will support education and increase opportunities for pupils at all stages of their learning, as well as providing better sport, leisure and learning facilities that can be used and enjoyed by the wider community;
· Be located away from Station Road with the main vehicular access taken from Warwick Road. This will displace school traffic away from Station Road, improving highway safety, reducing traffic congestion and alleviating parking problems;
· Provide a safer environment when travelling to and from school, with good pedestrian and cycling connectivity from both within and through the site to the schools;
· Allow the release of the existing Arden school site to provide for new residential development on the most accessible and sustainable parts of the Arden Triangle site, near to village centres and public transport links. The proposals will provide a mix of market and affordable homes, including smaller homes for young people and specialist housing to meet the needs of older people. This will also help regenerate Knowle and our wider local community by supporting local businesses seeking increased footfall along the high street to maintain economic strength and viability.
We fully support these proposals as the culmination of long-standing collaboration among stakeholders to find a deliverable and realisable development solution. It is clear that new residential development within Knowle is an inevitable consequence of Local and National planning needs and obligations. Given this, We firmly believe that these proposals maximise the community benefit of these inevitable developments.