School expansion plan given green light

New classrooms and a sports hall have been approved at Bluecoat Wollaton Academy in Nottingham

A school in Nottingham has been given approval for a multi-million pound expansion to address a shortage of classroom places.

A three-court sports hall and 12 extra classrooms will be built at Bluecoat Wollaton Academy, allowing the school to grow by 300 pupils, to 1,050.

The expansion, approved unanimously by Nottingham City Council planners at a meeting on Wednesday, will increase full-time staff from 87 to 90, and part-time staff by seven, to 34, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The school has been "significantly oversubscribed", the planning committee was told, and is using temporary classrooms to meet demand.

Planners were told that while demand for school places has risen across the city, the council has "no power" to compel academies to expand, leaving Bluecoat Wollaton Academy as its "only viable option".

Concerns were raised over traffic and parking in consultations held last year with parents, carers and people living nearby.

Nine representations from neighbouring properties also raised similar concerns, including access along the narrow Sutton Passeys, which can become "chaos" at pick-up and drop-off times.

Officers said they would ask colleagues to increase traffic enforcement patrols.