A school for children with autism could be built in Crowthorne if leading members of Bracknell Forest Council give it the go-ahead.

The school could be built on the former site of the Transport Research Laboratory, now part of the Bucklers Park major housing development.

Construction work could start in summer 2025 if the council’s executive committee vote for it at a meeting on Tuesday, September 19.

A committee report says the council’s special educational needs and disability (SEND) services are facing increasing demand.

It says the council “currently pays for a high number of pupils” to attend specialist schools outside of the borough. And it adds that the land at Bucklers Park is “an excellent opportunity to deliver a new SEND school.”

Under the proposals, the council will buy the land from developers CALA homes for a fee of £1.

In return, CALA will not have to pay a £4.7 million contribution towards building a primary school on site that was part of a previous planning agreement.

If executive councillors agree, the plans will then have to be shown to the government’s department for education.

Council and department for education officials will then work together before submitting an application for planning permission.