Sandwell Council’s planning committee has unanimously approved £20 million plans to build a new Causeway Green Primary School in Oldbury. The new school will be situated on the edge of the former Brandhall golf course, near the corner of Grafton Road and Ferndale Road, as part of the wider Brandhall Village development, which includes 190 new homes and a 67-acre public park.
The proposed net zero school is designed to replace the existing Causeway Green Primary in nearby Penncricket Lane, which the council describes as ‘structurally failing’ and in “extremely poor condition,” with the building regularly experiencing flooding. The 70-year-old school is said to be “in the worst condition within the maintained school estate” and “beyond [its] economic life” due to corrosion of steel frames, according to a cabinet report.
New School Specifications and Staffing
The new school will accommodate 420 pupils, along with a 26-place nursery. It is expected to employ 50 full-time and eight part-time members of staff. A statement included with the council’s planning application said building a new school on the former golf course was the “optimum solution” and that the new building would be a “significant improvement and a substantial upgrade” in the quality of the school.
“The building will present an identifiable image of a regenerated and aspirational educational establishment,” the statement continued. The relocation plans were originally approved by the former Labour administration at Sandwell Council in January.
Council Justification and Cost Analysis
Peter Hughes, the council’s then cabinet member for regeneration and infrastructure, said children at Causeway Green would be going from “one of the poorest schools in the borough” to “something that was space age.” The local authority ruled out building a new school on the existing site, stating it would cost up to £5 million more than the new location.
Building the new school to a Passivhaus standard would cost £1 million more than a ‘traditional’ design, the council said, but the associated lower running costs would eventually save the authority money. The school has been designed with greener features, including insulation, windows, and ventilation, to hugely reduce the building’s energy demands and carbon footprint.
Brandhall Golf Course Background
The local authority originally looked to build 550 homes on the former Brandhall golf course but reduced its plans by two-thirds after a backlash from campaigners. A planning application to build 190 homes on the land was approved in 2023 despite receiving more than 200 objections, including those from the Brandhall Green Space Action Group, which was formed to fight off the threat of building on the land.
