A BUNGALOW in Stoulton is set to be converted into a special school as part of new proposals.

A planning application submitted to Wychavon District Council seeks to change the use of the property, which has a section used for provision of bed and breakfast, to a facility for 18 children with special needs.

The proposals for Sunbrae, Wadborough Road, Stoulton, have been put forward by Wider Ambition, an operator of independent special schools for academically able students with autism and anxiety.

The company says their homes “are designed to have a home-from-home feel to avoid triggering school-related anxiety in students” catering for “a low number of students at each site to maintain a residential feel and quiet, uncrowded facilities”.

It runs Lokrum Fields, Copyholt Lane, Bromsgrove, where there is space for 18 students, a figure that would be doubled if the plans for Sunbrae come to fruition.

The application says: “This proposal includes replacing an existing extension while maintaining the footprint, converting the garage, and replacing the existing stables with a timber framed outbuilding similar to the holiday lets on site, which remain unaffected.”

A public consultation on the application runs until August 4 with the decision set to be delegated, meaning the council’s planning officers are likely to make the decision without it having to be approved by councillors.