Long-awaited school redevelopment approved

Major plans to demolish and replace the majority of an Oldbury school have been approved.

Six old buildings at Perryfields Academy in Oldacre Road, Oldbury, will be knocked down to make way for a single three-storey replacement after plans by the Department for Education were approved by Sandwell Council’s planning committee on June 10.

Sandwell Council’s planning committee approved the work after the authority’s planning officers had recommended the work was given the green light.

Cllr Luke John Davies, governor at Perryfields Academy, spoke in favour of the work saying: “The school hasn’t hit its [published admission] numbers since 2010 and that is because it does not have a sixth form, it does not have the physical space. Since the raising of the school age in 2015 it has experienced significant problems.

“This is the secondary school that has not been redeveloped the longest in Sandwell, by a very long way.”

The application submitted at the end of last year said most of the buildings had “come to the end of their serviceable life.”

The majority of the school’s old and temporary buildings would be flattened including the unused two-storey block, a modular building, and the school’s gym, dance studio, changing rooms, dining hall and kitchen.

A two-storey teaching block would be the only building to remain on the current site with the new three-storey building built on the school’s existing playing fields. 

The new sports and playing fields, including space for grass football pitches and a running track as well as a five-a-side pitches and basketball and netball courts, would then be built on the old school site and car park.

A new car park would replace the school’s former sports hall and outdoor sports courts. The school’s Oldacre Road entrance would also be widened to allow for two-way access to ease congestion problems. 

The application said demolishing the old buildings would reduce change over times between lessons and allow for a more open landscape to improve site surveillance and the safety of pupils.

The work to the 1,200-pupil school in Oldacre Road, Oldbury would be completed by 2029 according to the application. It is hoped the new three-storey building would be built by early 2028.