Proposed Amesbury Drive School

Information for Churton Park Community Association

March 2010

The Ministry of Education has now commenced the planning phase for the new primary school and early

childhood education and care service proposed on Amesbury Drive

For more information on the proposed school please refer to the information below or alternatively if

you have any queries or wish to discuss the proposal further you can contact the Ministry of Education’s

consultants for this aspect of the project, Incite Ltd on:

Contact: Louise Miles or Natasha Wilson

Incite Ltd

PO Box 2058, Wellington, 6140

Tel: (04) 801 6862

Email: louise@incite.co.nz or natasha@incite.co.nz

Proposed Primary School

The primary school will cater for children from Year 1 to Year 6 and on opening is expected to have a roll

size of approximately 200 children, with the roll predicted to rise to around 400 by 2021. Approximately

25 full time staff are likely to be employed onsite. School hours will be generally from 9am to 3pm,

though school activities will take place outside these core hours e.g. sports activities, Board of Trustee

and parent/teacher meetings (as occurs with all other primary schools). In line with the Ministry’s

current policy, the school will open with an enrolment scheme in place and a home zone that has been

established through the normal process. This process will involve consultation at a future time with the

existing Churton Park School Board of Trustees and the community.

Proposed Early Childhood Education and Care Services

The early childhood service is proposed to cater for up to 50 children from 0 to 5 years of age. Of these

it is expected that there will be approximately 20 children under 2 years of age and 30 between the age

of 2-5 years. Approximately 11-12 staff will be associated with the early childhood services. Childcare

facilities generally operate for longer hours than primary schools allowing parents to drop off their

children on the way to work and collect them on their way home. Drop off times typically occurs from

7am onwards, with collection occurring up to 6.30pm. It is expected that most children would stay at

the facility all day.

School Layout

No detailed design for the proposed school and early childhood education and care service has been

undertaken at this stage. However, an indicative site layout plan has been developed and this

represents a possible approach to developing the site. This plan indicates that the primary school and

early childhood service buildings are likely to be located to the rear of the site (Mauldeth Terrace end)

and below the existing embankment. The area indicated on the plan for building and hard play areas

would not all be required but shows the possible locations. The area to the front of the site is proposed

to be principally used for playing fields. The primary access is likely to be from Amesbury Drive (set back

approximately 15-20m from the nearest dwelling), with a secondary access from Romaine Road. Car

parking and a drop off collection facility is likely to be located within the site between these two access

points.

Planning Process

To allow for the establishment of the school and early childhood centre it is proposed to place under the

District Plan a designation over the site for primary school and early childhood centre purposes. A

designation would give the school permission to undertake educational activities on the land. As part of

the designation and further to the recommendations of the specialist consultants, the Ministry has

agreed to a number of conditions to ensure that any adverse effects will be avoided or mitigated.

Reports have been prepared by specialist consultants to assess potential noise, traffic, infrastructure

and earthworks impacts of the proposal, and these have confirmed that a primary school and early

childhood service as proposed can be designed and constructed on this site without adversely affecting

the neighbouring properties and wider community

Attached: Indicative Site Layout