Wolverhampton Girls High School wins fight to build six classrooms
A school has won its fight to build six classrooms – but a row has erupted over access to the site during the year-long construction period.
Planning bosses have given the go-ahead to the extension at Wolverhampton Girls High School as it prepares to welcome 700 extra pupils over the next five years.
But they have yet to make a decision on which entrance should be used by builders' lorries and other construction traffic.
The staffroom, a 1960s annexe and two-storey rebuild will be bulldozed to make way for the classrooms, but part of the new building will encroach on the green belt.
The school says the extra space is needed to accommodate rising student numbers.
Headteacher Trudi Young told Wolverhampton City Council's planning committee that there was a need for more places and a desire by the school to expand its education provision.
But using the main entrance on Tettenhall Road would put pupils' lives at risk because drivers would have to travel to the opposite side of the site where the extension is planned, she said.
"We believe the safety of pupils should not be compromised," said Mrs Young, who favours the school's other entrance on St Jude's Road West, a residential cul-de-sac off Tettenhall Road.
But Councillor Phil Page argued that delivery times could be restricted. "I don't accept that the main entrance cannot be used. If workmen stick rigidly to a delivery timetable, pupils may not even see a vehicle coming in," he said.
Councillor Mike Hardacre, for the Park ward, claimed it was 'absolutely self-evident' that construction traffic should not be using a cul-de-sac.
"I do not see why residents should have to put up with a a year's disruption. I find nothing to suggest that this developer has to use St Jude's Road West when there is a perfectly viable alternative entrance to use," he said.
Park councillor Craig Collingswood raised other objections on behalf of residents including the felling of an oak tree to make way for the development and the encroachment on green belt in a built-up area. "We should be making every effort to preserve the city's lungs," he said. Planners said six new trees would be planted.
It was agreed to delegate authority to the director of planning to grant the scheme subject to a satisfactory access agreement for construction vehicles being drawn up. If a solution could not be agreed, the issue will be brought back before the planning committee.
