Plans to turn a church community centre into a special needs school have been approved.
Octavia House Schools, who run independent special day schools, is set to open its seventh site in Brewer Street, Maidstone, after being given the green light.
It will open the “therapeutic school” in the community centre behind the Grade II-listed Maidstone Methodist Church in Union Street, creating 25 full-time jobs.
In April 2024, the building was put on the market by lettings agents Sibley Pares for £750,000.
In the new year, Octavia House lodged plans to Maidstone council to change the use of the building to a school, seeking permission to make alterations and extend it.
The application, which was granted permission on Friday (July 25), includes new finishes to the front facade of the centre and a new multi-use games area.
The garage, which is in “disrepair”, will also be demolished, and a new teaching block with three classrooms will be constructed, which will link to the main building via a covered walkway.
Meanwhile, the rest of the ground floor will feature four classrooms, a therapy room, a medical room, a kitchen and dining room, and toilets.
On the mezzanine floor, there will be a further three classrooms, a sports hall, a staff room, and a group therapy room.
The first floor will have a second group therapy room and two offices.
Currently, the site has provision for 12 parking spaces, but this will be cut down to five, and eight cycling spaces will be created.
There will also be a metal gate towards Brewer Street and new fencing to separate the church from the school.
The application does not state what key stages the pupils attending will be, or opening times.
Octavia House says its “expert team of teachers and therapists work as one” with pupils aged five to 16 with a curriculum focused on meeting those with social, emotional and mental health needs.
Currently, it has schools in Great Baddow and South Woodham in Essex, and Kennington, Nine Elms, and Vauxhall in London.
