Extension plans at 1,200-pupil Blackpool school get green light

Plans which will enable one of Blackpool’s secondary schools to expand have been given the go-ahead.

Town hall planners have approved an application to build two new classrooms at St Mary’s Catholic Academy on St Walburga’s Road in the town, which has more than 1,200 pupils attending lessons. In its application, which was approved using delegated powers, the school said the additional capacity was needed to accommodate increasing pupil numbers.

The development will see construction take place on a rear courtyard which is currently partly used as a playground, but planners ruled the scheme was acceptable and met with local policies. A report setting out the decision says: “With the exception of the pitched roofs, the extensions, including the materials, would be in keeping with the scale and appearance of the existing school building which they would be viewed against. ”

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The pitched roofs are part of the proposals due to previous issues with drainage, but as the new building will be mainly hidden, the contrast to existing flat roofs at the school was acceptable.

A design brief accompanying the application says: “Currently, classrooms need to be swapped around to accommodate different lessons. The school and local authorities have determined that two new classrooms are required to meet both the growing number of pupils and the limitations on classroom space. The courtyard area is relatively new as it was constructed in 2010.”

The single-storey classrooms would be identical in size and built within the existing footprint of the main school buildings.