Plans for new Astley Community High School and Whytrig Middle School premises in Seaton Delaval recommended for approval

The new campus will jointly house pupils from Astley Community High School and Whytrig Middle School.

Indoor and outdoor sports facilities for use by the schools and the wider community are also included in the application.

The application will be ruled on by councillors at the Strategic Planning Committee meeting on Tuesday, December 6 at 4pm.

The senior planning officer’s conclusion stated that the benefit of the facilities “overrides the level of harm identified” by consultations.

The proposed site of the project is on the Green Belt, but the officer’s report said the urgent need for new school facilities, lack of alternative sites within the catchment area, and community benefit of sports facilities override the harms identified.

What do the plans involve?

The proposed site is located on The Avenue (A190), not far from the current school buildings.

The key feature of the plans is a two story E-shaped school building that both schools will share.

While the schools will have separate classrooms, both will be able make use of science labs, art studios, and the attached sports facilities.

A forest school and specific facilities to help children with special educational needs participate in mainstream education where appropriate are included in the plans.

A swimming pool, sports pitches, and two multi-use games areas totalling seven tennis courts will be open for school and wider community use.

There will be a full-sized, floodlit, artificial pitch, as well as two full-sized grass pitches, two nine-a-side football pitches, three seven-a-side pitches, and three five-a-side pitches included in the facilities.

Parking proposals have been included in plans too, namely an off-site car park a short walk from the new school.

Why have the plans been proposed?

Proposals to build new facilities for the schools first emerged in 2016.

The current buildings, which are next door to each other, are the most in need of replacement of all schools maintained by the council.

They have a £15.7m backlog of repairs, and high levels of asbestos in the buildings makes refurbishment and maintenance expensive and impossible without closing large parts of the schools.

As the plans set out an ambition to make the facility the first net-zero school in Northumberland, the proposals could reduce the schools’ energy bills if completed as well as help the council meet its climate targets.

Are there objections to the plans?

56 public objections have been made to the planning application.

While Seaton Valley Council supported the proposal, they raised concerns about the impact of the development on traffic, road safety, and parking in the area.

Local businesses Delaval And Hartley Glaziers & Ceramics and Melrose Funeral Services both objected to the application, both citing the impact to parking outside their premises in their comments.

The planning officer’s report also noted an ecology report is still to come, and that the recommendation of approval is subject to these findings.