Mildenhall College Academy submits plans to construct three-storey building at Sheldrick Way site
A town school experiencing ‘shortfalls in accommodation’ has submitted plans to construct a three-storey building at its site.
Mildenhall College Academy has put forward proposals to Suffolk County Council for the extension at its site in Sheldrick Way.
The new building would be at the south of the school to provide a link between the two current teaching areas.
A design and access statement said: “The proposed extension aims to address existing shortfalls in accommodation for 1,350 places and to provide general classrooms for the school to expand to 1,500 places in the future."
On the building’s ground floor there would be a dining room, inclusion room, office and toilets.
Plans for the first floor include three classrooms, a staff room, meeting room and toilets, while the second floor would have four additional classrooms, two offices and a staff work room.
Access to the school would be maintained from the Queensway and Sheldrick Way priority junction.
A Mildenhall resident, who lives within five minutes of the academy, did not object to the extension of the school building but warned traffic is already a ‘real issue’.
They said the traffic has been made worse by the ‘inadequate junction’ outside the hub which has added to the build up of traffic, forcing parents to park in nearby residential streets.
The comment further said: “I would urge the council not to ignore the already bad traffic and parking issues which will be made worse by the extension. Please amend the Mildenhall Hub junction which will help enormously with traffic flow and parking.”
Original plans for Mildenhall College Academy’s move to Sheldrick Way included the ability for pupils and staff to access facilities at Mildenhall Hub, but this has not come to fruition.
The proposed development is not anticipated to increase the pupil numbers beyond the school's original capacity and therefore the existing car park facilities are to remain the same.
A design and access statement said: "Due to several housing development sites in the local area, it is likely that an increased demand will become apparent in the future.
"Therefore, the additional classrooms for 1,500 pupil spaces are also to be provided, although the pupil numbers will not increase as part of this development."
A 1,000 home estate in West Row Road, along the western edge of the town, is one of the housing developments being considered for the area.
Plans for the development prompted calls from Nick Timothy MP in October for a relief road to be built in the town to ease traffic flows.
With planning permission submitted for the three-storey extension, a Suffolk County Council spokesperson said a decision should be made later in the summer, with work anticipated to start in the autumn.
The spokesperson added the county council has been liaising with West Suffolk Council as the landlords for the site, to minimise disruption to other site users.
West Suffolk Council has not objected to the proposed extension.
