Sandye Place Academy used to be a school, but the Department for Education closed it in 2019. Since then, we have kept the site closed and secure.
In 2021, we applied to the Department for Education to release the land from educational use. This is called a Section 77 application. As part of this, a public consultation was carried out.
The Secretary of State for Education has now agreed to release the site and this unlocks the potential for future use of the site. The rules around this application process mean it is only once we had this written consent that we could consider what the future of the site may be.
Sandye Place Academy has always been an important and cherished community asset and we want the site to continue to serve the needs of Sandy now and in the future. Sandye Place is currently listed as an asset of community value.
The latest position
Now the site is no longer required for education, we will seek to demolish the non-listed buildings that cost the taxpayer money to keep safe and secure; but we will make the site available to event organisers in 2023 for the Sandy Carnival and for the celebrations of the King’s Coronation.
Sandye Place Academy has always been an important and cherished community asset and we want the site to continue to serve the needs of Sandy now and in the future. Parts of the site are listed, in a conservation area, designated as ‘important open space’ and some elements have historical importance to the community. The site is also currently listed as an asset of community value.
Some of the site has already been provided to St Swithun’s Primary School, so it’s the remainder of the site that needs to be considered as we think about the long-term future use. To help us understand this better and what it means for the site’s future, we will undertake some on-site surveys.
We also need to understand what Sandy needs and what the ambitions are for Sandy so the future use of the site can best serve the community in the future. We had some feedback in the 2021 consultation about the future use of the site and Sandy has a Community Plan and is developing a neighbourhood plan we want to consider. We also need to think about what services or community facilities our data and forecast tell us Sandy residents will need in the future.
One example could be a new care home. We plan to replace our remaining care homes when the buildings become no longer fit for purpose so we could consider building a new care home on the site to support a move from Allison House.
No decisions have been made at this point. We will review all the feedback and insight to help shape our consultation on the future of the site.