A NEW primary school in Melksham is a step closer after plans were approved by councillors.
Construction of the new 420-capacity primary school would replace the Forest and Sandridge School which is due to be knocked down and turned into a residential area.
The proposals were welcomed by town and parish councillors at a recent meeting and the application will now go to Wiltshire Council for full approval.
The new school would be located south of Snarlton Lane and include two halls, a hard sports area and two grass football pitches.
The 2.2 hectare site has provision for community use at evenings and weekends in the larger hall and changing facilities which would be accessible to the public.
The school building would be split between two wings, to be built in two phases. An entrance hall, office block and nine classrooms would go up first, to accommodate 315 pupils. Work on four more classrooms, a reception room and a nursery later would increase the capacity to 420.
According to councillor Terry Chivers, the school needs to be built as a matter of urgency. He said, “We give the proposals our blessing and the fact is that we need a new school. The current one is in a bad state and is already turning kids away as they have a long waiting list. But, it is about getting it right for everybody in the future. I expect a decision at county level on the proposals at some time in early September.”
The new school’s plans were also approved by Melksham Without Parish Council. Its clerk, Mary Jarvis said, “We fully recognise the urgent need for this facility to be built in view of the state of the present building and we fully support plans for the larger new two class-entry school. The staff and governors at Forest and Sandridge School have had to cope for far too long in unacceptable conditions. All pupils deserve to be educated in the best possible environment. However the parish council feels it is also important to ensure that this development is right for the site and for those who will live here in the future.”
![Melksham Times Past
A column about days gone by in Melksham by local historian Lisa Ellis
The Independent Chapel and Women’s Rights in the 1840s
A document I recently transcribed lists the baptisms performed at the Independent Chapel. This record is especially helpful in that, along with baptisms, a lot of them include birth dates - one of the ways I discover which day someone was born.
The following is taken from a Wiltshire Times article published on 9th November 1878 which reports a speech given during the 100-year services and to celebrate their renovations (what we now know to be the Rachel Fowler Centre).
One speaker, Rev. T. Mann, minister in Trowbridge, talked about the Chapel’s origins when he related how Rev. Honywill came to Melksham and how he’d gone on to remain as the minister for the Independent Chapel for almost 60 years. [Honywill and his family lived on King Street in what we now call “Legion House”.]
Read more on our website, the link is in our bio.](https://scontent-lhr6-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.75761-15/505444438_18038424887647822_3264519508333556874_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_e35_tt6&_nc_cat=110&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=18de74&_nc_ohc=aLBu4qWxSc8Q7kNvwHaVKlW&_nc_oc=AdlPbhxQewT_cSiTru31F-5KIjiDsVWMpCZRRI9rD6F5r9thoch559YVoStjbAgUtcg&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-lhr6-1.cdninstagram.com&edm=ANo9K5cEAAAA&_nc_gid=LXEyVdf4JnNeYoQ52WXzVA&oh=00_AfNKFktSzThG--xszpxiOTO4LXiH0FfuQLjmBatZSq5t_A&oe=68586A4A "Melksham Times Past
A column about days gone by in Melksham by local historian Lisa Ellis
The Independent Chapel and Women’s Rights in the 1840s
A document I recently transcribed lists the baptisms performed at the Independent Chapel. This record is especially helpful in that, along with baptisms, a lot of them include birth dates - one of the ways I discover which day someone was born.
The following is taken from a Wiltshire Times article published on 9th November 1878 which reports a speech given during the 100-year services and to celebrate their renovations (what we now know to be the Rachel Fowler Centre).
One speaker, Rev. T. Mann, minister in Trowbridge, talked about the Chapel’s origins when he related how Rev. Honywill came to Melksham and how he’d gone on to remain as the minister for the Independent Chapel for almost 60 years. [Honywill and his family lived on King Street in what we now call “Legion House”.]
Read more on our website, the link is in our bio.")
