PLANS for a school in Mitchel Troy for children with special educational needs ran into opposition at a public meeting held last week (Wednesday 6th January).

The Priory Group are looking for planning permission to convert Hazeldene into a residential home for up to six children and the adjacent Mona Hawk Barn into a school for those six, and up to 12 others bussed in from Monmouthshire and adjacent counties.

The group, whose clients have included Amy Winehouse and Kate Moss, run health clinics and special schools across the country and it is one of these schools that they wish to introduce to the village.

James Imber from the Priory Group, and Julian Bolitho representing the agent, fielded questions from a packed hall after giving a brief overview of the plans.

The 31 schools the group currently operates cater for children who are “potentially vulnerable”; this includes those with ADHD, high-functioning autism or those who have missed periods of education and the local authority have stepped with a co-operative care order.

Some at the meeting made obvious parallels with Talocher School at Wonastow, also run by the Priory Group, for pupils with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties (BESD). Some reports of bad behaviour and deliberate damage to neighbouring properties had filtered through to residents at Mitchel Troy.

Mr Imber explained how the children attending the proposed school, whose ages will range from nine to 18, would have some freedoms.

He said they do try to control the children with “support and intervention” and a “rewards-based system,” where they would be able to earn extra pocket-money or have a sticker chart to encourage good behaviour.

“They have done nothing to warrant being locked up” he added, “and the staff will minimise incidents and situations and create a session for children to handle problems.”

He assured everyone that none of the children would have alcohol or drug-dependant problems as that requires a certain level of facilities that this building would not cater for.

The group aims to replicate a ‘family environment’ in the main building with a staff member to every two children; the planned school building, which would be regulated by the Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW) and Estyn, would daily take on up to another 12 pupils who have had care orders placed on them by local authorities.

Concerns raised from the floor included the large area proposed for parking, adding to congestion on the single track road and seasonal problems with flooding.

Comments have also been submitted online to Monmouthshire County Council. They include word from one village resident who feels that this application should not go ahead. She said: “The added traffic on a road with no pavement is increasing the risk of an accident happening. I know quite a few of the residents who live near Talocher, they have had a lot of trouble from people at Talocher (vandalism, verbal abuse etc).

“As a woman who lives on her own I am very concerned about my safety and the safety of my property if this planning goes ahead and I do not feel that is fair to local residents that they are made to feel unsafe in their own home.”

The plan went before Mitchel Troy Community Council for a recommendation at their meeting yesterday (12th January) in Dingestow before being considered by Monmouthshire County Council’s planning department later in the year.

You can view the plans at MCC’s planning portal using application numbers DC/2015/01322 and 01303.