PLANS to demolish three temporary buildings at Twynham School and replace them with a purpose-built teaching block have been approved.

Twynham Learning, the trust which runs the Christchurch school, applied at the end of last year for outline permission to remove the prefab units to make way for a permanent two-storey replacement.

This was granted by BCP Council last week, paving the way for the creation of ten new classrooms – almost double the total amount of teaching space.

The application was submitted by the trust’s facilities manager, Richard Gent, in outline form with final details of the building still needing to be submitted and approved.

It sought approval for the principle of the demolition of three prefab buildings on the site to clear way for a two-storey teaching block of ten classrooms.

Concerns were raised by the council’s transport department about the lack of detail provided around the potential impact of the scheme.

But following confirmation from the trust that the development would not lead to an increase in either staff or student numbers, it said any impact would be “negligible”.

“This proposal is not considered to result in an unacceptable impact on highway safety, nor a severe impact on the operation of the road network,” it said.

Following this, council planning officer Melanie Smith agreed to grant outline planning permission for the scheme.

“The proposed classroom structure is considered to be of an appropriate scale which will sit comfortably amongst the other buildings within the school campus and will not result in harm to the character of the wider locality,” her report said.

She said the new block would have “a more significant visual presence” than the prefab buildings it would replace but she said the replacement was supported due to their temporary nature.

Approval will need to be sought by the trust for the final details of the new block’s construction before any work can start.