Plans to expand a secondary school to meet the growing demand for places have been given the green light.
Kent County Council (KCC) members unanimously approved the proposals for a new two-storey teaching block at Northfleet Technology College (NTC).
It will see two general teaching classrooms, two catering training classrooms, two engineering workshops, one zonal teaching area, and one dining hall created.
The scheme also includes an expansion to its wellbeing garden, solar panels on the roof, hard and soft landscaping and plans for a new road for servicing and deliveries.
The new building will allow the school in Colyer Road, Northfleet, to accommodate an extra 200 students and will see 15 more teachers hired.
Members of the planning committee took forward council officers’ recommendations and gave the scheme the go-ahead on Wednesday (July 9).
Questions were raised over the lack of additional cycle spaces planned despite hundreds more pupils attending the school, but officers assured that what was currently on site was sufficient.
Councillors also asked if solar panels would be incorporated into the scheme and was told that they will be installed on the roof of the new building.
The committee report stated that due to the growing number of homes in the area, NTC is under pressure to increase its intake of pupils each year.
KCC has a legal duty to ensure sufficient school places are available and, according to its education commissioning plan, there will be a shortfall in Year 7 places in the next five years.
To meet the needs, the school, which is part of the Northfleet Schools Co-operative Trust, temporarily offered 189 spots in 2023 and 2024 instead of 164.
It will now be able to make the change permanent, and will be able to create a new Year 7 class created, eventually increasing the number of students across the site to 1,120.
Officers said: “In my view, it would deliver necessary community infrastructure to meet growth in the locality and address community needs.”
One letter of objection was received from a nearby resident who raised concerns over increased traffic and anti-social behaviour due to more students attending the school.
However, officers dismissed their fears, stating that a travel plan had been submitted which suggested that the additional staff and pupil numbers would not cause an “overriding detrimental impact” on the highway.
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It is not yet known when construction of the new building will begin.
