Sandye Place Academy used to be a school, but the Department for Education closed it in 2019. Since then, we have made the site secure and safe at the cost of around £100k per year with an additional spend to prevent deterioration of the listed buildings.
In 2021, we applied to the Department for Education to release the land from educational use. This is called a Section 77 application. As part of this, a public consultation was carried out.
The Secretary of State for Education has now agreed to release the site and this unlocks the potential for future use of the site. The rules around this application process mean it is only once we had this written consent that we could consider what the future of the site may be.
Sandye Place Academy has always been an important and cherished community asset and we want the site to continue to serve the needs of Sandy now and in the future. Sandye Place is currently listed as an asset of community value.
Sandye Place Academy has always been an important and cherished community asset and we want the site to continue to serve the needs of Sandy now and in the future. Parts of the site are listed, in a conservation area, designated as ‘important open space’ and some elements have historical importance to the community. The site is also currently listed as an asset of community value.
Some of the site has already been provided to St Swithun’s Primary School, so it’s the remainder of the site that needs to be considered as we think about the long-term future use.
From spring to early summer of 2025, we consulted on the future use of the Sandye Place Academy site and proposed re-provision of Allison House residential home on the site.
The consultation results are summarised in the Executive report (PDF). Respondents were supportive of the proposal for the re-provision of Allison House and community facilities, with comments generally suggesting that a care home is preferred to other buildings. Respondents felt strongly that the community should have access to the rest of the green space for recreation and community events.
The Executive made a decision on 2 December 2025 to approve the closure of Allison House residential home and delegate authority for legal documentation to be prepared to build a new care home on the former Sandye Place Academy site. It also agreed to defer the decision on disposing of the remainder of the site for 6 months to enable the town council to further develop its business case.