New 200-pupil primary school on way to Staffordshire
A new primary school with more than 200 places and a nursery is set to be built in Hednesford.
Cannock Chase Council planning chiefs are considering the plans for the new school, which will sit on land off Pye Green Road.
It is part of a major development which has already begin in the area, including the building of 700 homes and new shops.
Developer St Modwen is behind the whole scheme while the school plans have been submitted by Stafford-based education group Entrust on behalf of Stafordshire county council.
If the school is approved then the county council will be looking for someone to run it.
The idea of the school had already been put forward and outline plans have already been approved as part of the overall scheme. But now more detailed plans have revealed that it will include a 26-place nursery, a hard-surfaced games area, grass playing fields and staff car parking.
Entrust hopes the new school, if approved, will open in September 2019 and will offer 210 places.
Council planning chiefs must now approve the finer details of the plan before work can begin.
Entrust bosses say there will not be enough school places available in the area when the new 700 homes are built, which is why this new primary is required.
A reported prepared by the group said: "Staffordshire County Council has a statutory duty to ensure the sufficient supply of good quality school places and to promote school diversity.
"It has been agreed with the district council, the developer and county council that there will be insufficient places available within the existing primary schools close to the site to satisfy the demand generated from the new housing development off Pye Green Road and Limepit Lane.
"There is not enough opportunity to expand the capacity at existing Cannock primary schools to meet the number of additional places generated by the new housing development. Therefore, the new primary school is proposed to ensure all pupils generated from the proposed new development on Land West of Pye Green Road will have a local school place available."
In 2014 Cannock Chase District Council approved outline plans for St Modwen's 142-acre development for land to the west of Pye Green Road.
This includes 700 homes, some of which will be affordable housing, 75 acres of public open space, the new primary school and a local centre incorporating shops and other facilities.
Plans were originally submitted in 2012 but the two sides took awhile to iron out a Section 106 agreement.
