FOREST Park School in Totton is set to build a new £50,000 sensory garden.

Rob Hatherley, who is the headteacher of the special educational needs school said told the Echo that the new facility will be “truly valuable for the children’s education”.

The garden is set to be built behind the secondary school site on Commercial Road.

Mr Hatherly added Echo that Councillor Neville Penman was also backing the project.

He said: “The garden will be interactive and will help enhance our students learning and social skills in a safe environment. We originally budgeted that the garden would cost more than £50,000, but Cllr Penman has been fantastic in getting local trades involved and we now have many people giving their time and resources for free.”

The school also ran a family fun day which raised more than £600 to go towards the project.

Cllr Penman said: “I really want people to get behind this as I think it will be a fantastic new facility for the school.

“So many local people have already agreed to give up their time to help, this is great news as it means it will cost a lot less than the £50,000 that we estimated.

“People have really come together for this which is brilliant to see.”

Plans for the garden have been based on the design of the sensory garden at Lepe Country Park. It will include textured ground work, wind chymes, bubble tubes and other sensory experiences.

The facility will be able to be used by both the primary and secondary school children.

To donate to the project visit https://mydonate.bt.com/charities/forestparkschooltrust.