A PLAN to bulldoze a school in poor condition and rebuild it has been given the thumbs up.
Bromsgrove District Council's planning committee approved the plan, which will see Waseley Hills High School in Rubery redeveloped, at a meeting last week.
The development involves the phased demolition of all existing school buildings and the erection of two new school buildings facing each other across a central courtyard.
In addition, a new Multi-Use Games Area with associated landscaping works will also be developed.
The school has been prioritised in the government’s rebuilding programme following a conditions assessment that determined urgent action was required due to the poor condition of the buildings.
The school will not close as part of the development, which is expected to be completed by Autumn 2026. The phasing of the demolition and construction has been designed to ensure that the safety of staff, pupils and visitors at the site is not compromised so that the day-to-day functioning of the school can continue.
According to case officer Paul Lester, the replacement school represents a "significant improvement over the existing facility in terms of what it is and what it can provide for the local community".
In the application report, he said: "The replacement school offers the opportunity to provide the area with a state of the art zero carbon in operation facility that will provide local pupils with an improved learning experience and the wider community the opportunity to make use of these facilities outside of school hours".
The school will provide a mixture of teaching facilities located in the two blocks including general classrooms, a dedicated SEN department, a sixth form study room, a sports hall together with a fitness suite and activity studio, a library, a music room and drama studio, science labs, art design and technology classes and dedicated ICT suites.
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