New estate sees school get £440k expansion boost

Expansion will allow Wellfield School to accommodate an additional 89 pupils

A school will receive nearly £440,000 to help meet the demands from a new housing development.

Wellfield School in Wingate is to get the cash to expand its capacity after Durham County Council approved plans for 137 homes in nearby Wheatley Hill.

Internal remodelling works, classroom construction and the redevelopment of the playing fields will allow the school to accommodate an additional 89 pupils.

A proposal was approved by the council's planning committee on Monday after a previous deferral in September.

The £437,616 funding package is part of a planning obligation agreed by developer Gleeson Homes for the new estate near Quilstyle Road.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, council planners said the site is in a sustainable location and the proposed homes would help address the identified needs in County Durham.

However, some residents warned the increased traffic the development would cause on Quilstyle Road – a main bus route to Durham and Sunderland – would impact locals.

Neil Craggs, Reform UK councillor for Thornley and Wheatley Hill, also warned about the capacity of local schools, GP surgeries and dentists, but committee members backed the scheme's revised financial contributions.