School gets go ahead

A NEW £1.95million primary school will be built to help cope with a rapidly expanding population in a popular market town.

Suffolk county councillors yesterday voted to build the school for 150 pupils on the Cedars Park estate, on the edge of Stowmarket.

The new school will be built during the next two years and is due to be open by September 2006.

It was approved during a meeting of the Executive Committee in Ipswich and county councillor Tony Lewis, portfolio holder for children and young people, said: "A new school for Stowmarket will be a real boost to the local community.

"The new school will also be designed to expand in the future, if more school places are needed.''

The development was agreed following an assessment of how many new school places would be required in the town to meet the needs of its growing population, which has risen over ten per cent in the last 13 years.

And a further 1,400 to 1,800 houses are planned for the Cedars Park estate in the town during the next five years, which could mean an extra 65 pupils per year group.

Suffolk County Council carried out a consultation with residents, governors, parents and staff who would be affected by the new school and 76% of those who responded supported the building of a new primary school to cater for 150 pupils on the estate.

The school will be built at the reserved site at Cedars Park, and the new community will be served by middle and high schools in the area.

The new school has won support locally, with Duncan Macpherson, county, district and town councillor for Stowmarket, believing it will be a real boost for the community.

Town mayor Gordon Paton added: "This is excellent news, we were all hoping for this. We have some excellent schools and hopefully this will be another one.

"Having a school on the new estate will add a greater sense of community up there, they are a bit isolated from the rest of the town.''