New primary school planned for Norfolk village
Blofield is to get a school with space for double the number of students
Last updated 4th Jan 2023
A Norfolk village is set to get a replacement primary school to help deal with an influx of pupils from new housing schemes.
A 420-place school could be built in Blofield, between Norwich and Acle, providing for almost twice the number of pupils as the current site.
Plans submitted to Norfolk County Council (NCC) say the new building is needed because the current facility is already oversubscribed and a series of housebuilding projects in the area means the situation is likely to get worse.
The current school has 217 pupils but should have a capacity of 210.
Planning permission has been granted for more than 400 houses in the village over the last 10 years.
The developers say on average every 100 new homes result in demand for more than 28 primary school-aged places, meaning 112 extra are needed.
The planning statement said: “The application site represents the only credible, available location for a replacement school to address the growing need for additional school places.”
The proposal also features a series of green energy schemes, including an air source heat pump, solar panels on the roof and an all-electric kitchen, eliminating the need to use natural gas.
The replacement school would be built east of Plantation Road, about 250m away from the current site.
NCC is considering what to do with the old facility, possibly transferring parts – including the playing field – to the parish council.
The planning statement said: “Whilst the development of a replacement primary school will result in the loss of public open space, it is anticipated that a smaller area of open space would be re-provided using the current school playing field, following the opening of the replacement school.”
Any planning approval required for the current Blofield Primary School would come in a future application.
Initial plans for the new site included a preschool nursery but NCC no longer believes there is sufficient need for it to be included in the application.