A TEIGNBRIDGE school for children with complex needs has submitted an application to retain its outdoor learning space amid concerns over flooding.

Rated ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted, the Greater Horseshoe School, which is based at Heathfield, has long used land at Chipley Mill, Bickington, for outdoor learning, despite not having official permission to do so.

In November 2025, Teignbridge Council decided the risk of floods at the low-lying site meant it could not allow the unauthorised use to continue.

Members of the planning committee heard that the site was a ‘high risk’ flood zone which posed a potential risk to life.

The school has given six months to submit a formal planning application, or face having one of its two ‘satellite facilities’ dismantled.

And the school have submitted an application.

Reference 26/00876/MAJ, the application, which is seeking permission to retain the site for its present use, includes a Flood Risk Assessment and associated modelling, which includes ‘accurate and up-to-date analysis’, the planning, design and access statement for 26/00876/MAJ says.

Teignbridge Council are due to make a decision by August 26.

The planning, design and access statement for 26/00876/MAJ goes on to say: ‘The site is a key part of the Greater Horseshoe School providing an off-school learning environment including areas for recreation, horticulture, livestock, bushcraft, orchards, restorative gardens, wildlife areas, construction and farm produce and crafts.

‘The engagement of pupils with this element of the school provides diverse opportunities, including explorative, nurturing practical activities that can help release the “feel-good” hormones, helping relieve stress, rebuild neurological pathways and enabling students to engage with learning’.

Flanked by the River Lemon to the north and the A383 to the south, the Chipley Mill site has been used by the school since 2018.

It is largely undeveloped and comprises open grassland with some buildings.

To view the planning documents in full, and to comment on the application, visit Teignbridge Council’s planning portal and enter ‘26/00876/MAJ’ into the search-box.