Bid to turn theatre and college into SEND site

A trust has announced it has put in a bid for a major specialist learning facility at Melton theatre and college.

Discovery Trust, which operates Birch Wood Special School in Melton, confirmed on Wednesday it was proposing to provide provision for students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) at the site.

The bid was lodged with Loughborough College after the theatre and college were put up for sale for £3.5 million in February, reports the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The educational trust said the vision for the site was to retain it for community use "while helping to address a critical gap in SEND provision".

The college and theatre were put on the market in February due to "inherited historic financial liabilities".

Theatre performances scheduled for the rest of the year were still set to go ahead, the college group had said.

The new provision would provide SEND spaces for Leicestershire, but specifically the Melton District, Harborough, and Charnwood.

Director of specialist provision at Discovery Trust, Rosalind Hopkins, said the bid was a "complex process".

She emphasised that the trust's interest is "driven by community need and a desire to support local families, while ensuring any proposal is deliverable and financially responsible".

"We have worked incredibly hard to put forward a proposal that reflects what this community needs and deserves. Our focus has always been on ensuring the site continues to serve a meaningful purpose for local people and meets the growing need for SEND provision locally.

"Across Leicestershire, there is a well-documented shortage of specialist places for young people with additional needs, with hundreds of students currently without suitable provision."

Previously, the trust said it was looking to provide 75 SEND places as part of its proposals, adding it would create space across its Birch Wood school settings in all age ranges from four to 19 years old.

"We believe our proposal reflects a strong and sustainable option. However, this is a complex process and there are elements outside of our control," said Hopkins.

"We will continue to engage constructively as the situation develops and remain focused on finding the best possible outcome."

Listen to BBC Radio Leicester on Sounds and follow BBC Leicester on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210.