Plans for a new block of classrooms to be built at a secondary school have been given the green light.
Shropshire Council has granted permission for the new ‘teaching barn’ at Thomas Adams School in Wem, which planning officers said would allow the school to increase its intake.
The building will comprise three classrooms, each big enough for 30 pupils, an office and an external canopy to provide shelter to pupils queuing for the dining hall.
In documents submitted with the application in October, the school said the extra space was needed in order to meet current teaching requirements and allow other buildings on the campus to be adapted.
The school currently has 1,200 pupils on roll between the ages of 11 and 18, and did not say whether it would take in more pupils as a result of the extra space.
However a report by planning officer Gemma Price says: “The building will provide great benefits to the site providing additional accommodation to the existing site and allow for additional intake of pupils to the school.”
The single-storey block will be built on an area of the current staff car park to the north of the main school building, with 20 parking spaces to be lost.
These will however be replaced by 11 new spaces next to the new building, and nine ‘informal’ spaces near the main entrance.
There were two objections from members of the public, both of whom argued that the new building should be constructed to the highest energy efficiency standards.
But Ms Price’s report says: “There is no evidence put forward that the building will result in detrimental harm to the climate and the benefits outweigh the climate crisis concerns.”
The report concludes: “It is considered that the classroom building is of a much-needed facility required by the school on a day-to-day basis.
“The siting, scale and design of the proposed building is deemed acceptable as it will not be detrimental to the appearance of the school site, or to the character of the area.
“Additionally no adverse impact will be caused to the amenities of the nearby residential dwellings.
“Additional parking arrangement have been introduced to support the site, to ensure minimal harm is caused to the highway network.
“Officers are satisfied that on balance the benefit of development outweighs any potential concerns raised and is therefore compliant with planning policies.”
