Cornwall’s biggest housebuilder has donated £2,000 to supporters of a special school near St Austell.

The donation from Persimmon Homes to Friends of Doubletrees School in St Blazey comes from the developer’s Community Champions programme that sees £700,000 donated to good causes and much-valued organisations across Britain each year.

The group – which serves the 115 pupils that attend the school – will put the funding towards the school’s playground.

The accredited five-star housebuilder has an outline application to bring up to 325 homes to St Austell, 25% of which will be transferred to a housing association, helping to lower the local housing waiting list which, at over 25,000 households, is one of Britain’s longest. Approval would trigger millions of pounds of infrastructure investment from Persimmon.

A significant proportion of the site will remain reserved for new high-quality green infrastructure, comprising areas for ecological enhancement, separate central and country parks, teenage provision, and equipped, natural, and accessible green play areas.

The scheme will be benefit from connecting into the existing public right of way network, the nearby supermarket, town centre, and local allotments in addition to cycleways, emphasising how the development will fit into town and promote active travel to make use of amenities.

Other recent recipients of Persimmon’s Community Champions funding include St Austell RFC, Home-Start Kernow, and Cornwall Air Ambulance.

Persimmon Homes Cornwall & West Devon Sales Director Jane Cartwright said:

“As a developer seeking to bring much-needed new homes to St Austell, we felt it important to support local schools in the area, especially one that provides more specialist education.

“When Friends of Doubletrees School got in touch, it felt like a great cause to support as we wanted to contribute to upgrading and expanding the play facilities for pupils at the school.

“We wish the children, teachers, and staff at the school the very best for the new term.”

Heidi Hoskin, Headteacher at Doubletrees School, added:

“We are absolutely delighted and incredibly grateful to Persimmon Homes for this generous £2,000 donation to Friends of Doubletrees School. Our playground is a very special part of school life, giving our pupils the chance to play, explore, build confidence and independence, and simply enjoy being together outdoors.

“This wonderful support will help us continue with the next phase of improvements and create an even more accessible and engaging space where our children can thrive. It means so much to know that our local community is behind our pupils and our school. A heartfelt thank you from everyone at Doubletrees.”

Wendy Hazelton from Friends of Doubletrees School, commented:

“We cannot thank Persimmon Homes enough, for their wonderful donation, allowing us to continue going forward with the playground.”