Mildenhall College Academy Portakabin classroom plans for extra pupils

Plans have been submitted for two Portakabins to accommodate extra pupils at a Suffolk school which moved to a state-of-the art new site just two years ago.

The proposed application seeks temporary planning permission for the installation of two single storey Portakabin Ultima buildings as double classrooms for Mildenhall College Academy (MCA) students.

A design and access statement, to West Suffolk Council, said that admissions are growing, with MCA taking on extra students from September and the proposed buildings are needed to accommodate them.

The school moved to the Mildenhall Hub, in Sheldrick Way, in June 2021 and at the time SuffolkNews reported that it could hold a maximum of 1,350 pupils.

The application, from the Academy Transformation Trust, seeks temporary planning permission for 52 weeks.

The statement added: “The long term plan is for the main building to receive an extension to replace these units. Once said extension is built, both units will be removed from site.

“This application will see no increase in staff numbers and there will be no more than 32 persons using either building at any one time.”

The proposed buildings have an overall floor space of 312m² which meet the overall requirements of a functional classroom space and they reduce the large playing field space by a small amount, with over 13,000m² still left to use.

The school was previously based in Bury Road.

Mildenhall Hub also houses the Mildenhall Library and the West Suffolk Council offices.

A statement from West Suffolk Council said: “The council has received a planning application from Academy Transformation Trust and will not be commenting further at this stage.”

The trust and the academy have also been approached for comment.