Street and Glastonbury housing boom puts school places to the test

By Laura Linham 26th Aug 2026

Local News by Laura Linham 8 minutes ago

More than 1,000 homes approved, under construction or being considered across Street and Glastonbury are not expected to overwhelm existing school capacity, according to Somerset Council's latest Education Places Strategy. The two school planning areas had 1,063 homes in the pipeline when the council's housing data was compiled on 30 January 2026.

Street accounts for the lion's share, with 451 homes across 37 approved or under-construction applications and another 350 homes across seven applications still under consideration. Major schemes include an approved development at Somerton Road, a proposal at Higher Brooks and other large developments proposed at Moorland Road in Street and Main Street in Walton.

The council says Street's urban primary schools have enough overall capacity to accommodate demand from approved and proposed housing, despite pupil numbers being forecast to rise above the combined planned admission limit by 2032. The three urban schools have capacity for 1,057 pupils and had 838 on roll in spring 2026, while the three rural primary schools have capacity for 478 and had 373 pupils.

A site for a new school has already been identified in Street's Local Plan and could be used if extra provision is needed in future. However, the council says there are currently no proposals to bring forward the housing developments that would require it.

Crispin School is also expected to have sufficient room for additional pupils generated by housing growth. The secondary school has a capacity of 1,150 and had 978 pupils on roll in spring 2026, with the council's forecast remaining below capacity through to 2036.

Glastonbury has a much smaller housing pipeline, with 245 homes across 20 approved or under-construction applications and another 17 homes across four applications under consideration. The council highlights a large development under construction around Common Moor Drive, alongside approved schemes at Cullen Farm Road, Baltonsborough Road and Butleigh Street.

Its six primary schools have combined capacity for 1,102 pupils and had 848 pupils on roll in spring 2026. Forecasts including approved, pending and future housing remain below that capacity, and Somerset Council says there is sufficient room to meet demand from new development.

The picture is similar at St Dunstan's Academy, where 529 pupils were on roll against capacity for 670. The council's adjusted forecast rises over the next few years as housing is factored in, but remains below the school's capacity throughout the forecast period.

Early years provision is where the picture becomes tighter in both areas. Street's theoretical calculations show sufficient places overall, but providers surveyed in autumn 2025 reported very few vacancies for children aged two and under, particularly those aged under two.

Glastonbury's figures also show a theoretical surplus, including 12 full-time equivalent places for children aged under two. But providers told the council there were very few places actually available for that age group, and the strategy says additional housing may require existing provision to expand.

Taken together, the two areas have far more housing in the pipeline than Wells, but the council's forecasts paint a less pressured picture for school-age children. For now, Street and Glastonbury have enough overall primary and secondary capacity to absorb the expected growth, with early years provision the part of the system most likely to need extra room first.