Work is about to begin on adding more special needs places at a Kenilworth primary school.

The project at St John's Primary School and nursery is set to start in the penultimate week of November and be finished in time for the start of term in September 2027.

First revealed in 2023, the scheme will see a new building for children with social, emotional and mental health needs (SEMH) built.

Warwickshire County Council's planning team signed off on the designs for the project earlier this year, although the development has been hugely stripped back from the original plans.

Crucially, the build at Mortimer Road will not include the extensions to two of the school buildings which would have helped create a further 210 school places.

In an update this week, Cllr Richard Dickson said: "At long last, after months and months of chasing county council, the enabling works have started with an access route around the back of the school to build new facilities for special educational needs and mental health, which are much needed."

Cllr Richard Dickson at the site of the enablement works (image supplied)

The works are due to last 44 weeks.

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Cllr Dickson said it had taken a "considerable amount of chasing" to get to this stage and he "paid tribute" to the school staff and families at the school for their patience.

The plans approved in July allow for the new building to take shape under 'permitted development rights' rather than a full planning application needing to be submitted.

Should the bigger plans to expand the school come back onto the table, full planning permission would be needed for those.

Over £6 million was previously ring-fenced for the larger project. It remains to be seen how much of this money will now be spent and whether the rest of the funds will be protected in case the rest of the project is finished.

A public consultation on the project was held in 2023.

The project was originally due to be finished in 2024.