A BUILDING project to aid the amalgamation of two schools and the creation of a community learning centre has been unanimously approved.
The development was put forward at The Acorns Primary and Nursery school, Pooltown Road, Whitby.
It involved an extension to the junior school to accommodate infant and nursery children, including a covered play area, an extension to the hall, play areas, an extension to the car park to provide an additional 16 spaces and two shade sails.
The present infant school building is 80 metres away separated from the juniors by a nursing home and a residential property, according to a report.
The schools share play space.
The main extension, which would be single-storey, would be 46 metres wide and 22.5 metres in depth, with a 10-metre link to the school.
Highway officers were said to have had a number of concerns, including car parking issues at drop-off and collecting times, but these had been dealt with.
Measures would be included in the school travel plan to dissuade on-street parking at the school which has no drop off.
There would be little impact on the residential home as the scheme would simply relocate the nursery from one side of the care home to the other, councillors heard.
A resident living opposite the school raised concerns about ‘contentious issues’ with residents’ driveways being blocked and drivers being argumentative when asked to move.
The road was often reduced to a single lane with a ‘dangerous mix’ of normal traffic, school traffic and children and pedestrians trying to cross the road, stated the report.
The application was recommended for approval and councillors gave the plans their unanimous permission.
