Havering Council has agreed to pay more than £2million to develop plans for a new special needs school in the borough.

Development of the Balgores Special School, which will cater to children with special educational needs (SEND), was first approved in November.

The purpose-built school, with 300 spaces available, is expected to open in September 2027.

At a meeting on Wednesday, October 9, the cabinet signed off on a £2.3m contract with construction company Galliford Try, who will draw up the scheme.

The town hall hopes the new Romford institution will lower the cost of transporting children out of the borough to attend SEND schools elsewhere.

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Deputy council leader Gillian Ford said the school was “long awaited” and “needed to be brought forward as soon as possible”.

She said: “We’ve all seen the increase in demand and increase in costs, and the social impact it has on the children. They’re not in their borough and they’re not in their groups.”

Ray Morgon, leader of the council, said: “Like many councils across the country, SEND transport is taking an increasing amount of council resources.

“More in-borough provision will cut those costs.”

All told, the new school is expected to cost around £38m. A total of £39m was allocated for the project in the council budget, and the authority will not need to borrow money to fund it.

Conservative group leader Keith Prince criticised the town hall for "guesstimating" that materials and labour will cost less than expected at a time when “these things are going through the roof”.

Andrew Blake-Herbert, the chief executive, said there were “fixed prices” set by the Department for Education, which the council will adhere to.

The council began the year with a £32.5m budget deficit and has since proposed closing four libraries in the borough and building new housing on ‘underutilised’ car parks.

A formal planning application for the school will be submitted to the council’s planning department next October, according to its own timeline.

It will then take 11 months for the school to be built, though opposition councillors said they were “keen to get it in the ground and going”.