Leamington Care Home Could Become SEN School for 35 Pupils

An empty care home on Warwick New Road in Leamington could become a small special school for primary-age children. The plan is for up to 35 pupils aged 5 to 11.

The application to Warwick District Council, reference W/26/0648, covers 26 Warwick New Road. The council’s consultation closes on Friday 16 October, and its target date for a decision is 29 October.

What is planned

The applicant’s transport statement describes a special educational needs (SEN) school. It says pupils will typically be children with ADHD, autism and similar conditions, but without any significant physical disability.

The application documents set out:

• up to 35 pupils, aged 5 to 11
• 10 staff: five teachers and five teaching assistants on a typical day
• groups of up to seven pupils, each with a teacher and a teaching assistant
• opening hours of 8.30am to 4pm, Monday to Friday, according to the application form
• the rear courtyard used as a play area at break times
• the six parking spaces at the front kept for staff and visitors
• a taller, black metal fence at the front, replacing the current one, for security

The building would not be extended. The planning and heritage statement says the internal layout would stay as it is, with the rooms used as classrooms, staff rooms and offices. A noise impact assessment was submitted because of the play area.

The site is inside the Royal Leamington Spa Conservation Area. The building is not listed.

How children would get there

Most pupils would arrive by minibus, which the transport statement says is typical for SEN schools. The local authority would be required to provide one minibus and the school would provide a second. Each has about 15 seats, giving room for about 30 pupils. Teaching staff would drive them.

Parents who drop off by car would be asked to use the stretch of road west of the site, not the school frontage. Staff would be asked not to park there. The statement expects some pupils to walk to school with their parents.

The one objection so far

One objection has been lodged, from a resident of a nearby street. They say they understand the bespoke nature of the plan, and that the impact is unlikely to be severe. Their concerns are about what happens if the school’s operation changes later:

• the on-site parking includes tandem spaces, which they say makes it more likely that staff park on the street instead
• they estimate six to eight staff cars could park on the road all day, filling the unrestricted spaces west of the site that neighbours rely on
• nothing in the plan makes the minibus arrangement binding, so up to 30 children could one day be driven in by car, with queues back to the Princes Drive roundabout at peak times

They suggest the council could secure a travel plan through a planning condition.

What the building was

The transport statement says the site was most recently run by an organisation called DEAF-initely. It provided accommodation and personal care for deaf younger adults across numbers 26 and 28 Warwick New Road, with room for up to 19 residents. The building is now vacant.

Number 28, next door, already has planning permission to become a medical and health clinic. The council granted it on 9 December 2025 under W/25/0114. The statement says Warwick Eye Surgeons is the proposed operator.

The applicant is Pathray Ltd, with Sheldon Bosley Knight as its planning agent. Companies House lists a company now called The Pathray Independent School Ltd, company number 17182942. It was incorporated as Pathray Ltd on 27 April 2026, two weeks before the application was received, and changed its name on 18 June. Its registered office is in Enfield, north London.

What it means for you

• If you live nearby: you can comment on the application until 16 October. Search for W/26/0648 on the council’s planning portal and use the comments tab. Comments on parking, traffic and noise are material planning issues.
• If you are a parent of a child with SEND: the application does not say how places would be offered or funded, or when the school would open. Those are not planning questions. An independent school also has to be registered with the Department for Education before it can open.
• What happens next: council officers will weigh the comments and the transport evidence. Our Leamington planning news page tracks applications like this one, and we will report the decision.

Sources

• Warwick District Council planning application W/26/0648, summary and dates tabs, for the proposal, the received and validated dates, the 16 October consultation expiry and the 29 October target date.
• Transport Statement by EAS, submitted 3 September 2026, for the SEN school, the pupil and staff numbers, the group sizes, the minibuses, the drop-off arrangements, DEAF-initely and the neighbouring permission W/25/0114.
• Planning and Heritage Statement by Sheldon Bosley Knight, June 2026, for the conservation area, the unchanged layout, the courtyard play area, the fence and the six parking spaces.
• The redacted application form, for the applicant name and the opening hours.
• The objection comment published on the application on 24 September 2026, for the parking and travel plan concerns. We have not named the resident.
• Companies House, company 17182942, for the company’s name, former name, the date of the change, the incorporation date and the registered office.
• Warwick District Council planning application W/25/0114, for the permission granted at 28 Warwick New Road on 9 December 2025.