A new 630-place school, up to forty homes, fifteen age-restricted properties and a 64-bed care home could soon be built in Midsomer Norton. The outline plans for a parcel of land off Silver Street also include road improvements, new footpaths and cycleways, with a decision expected by B&NES Council’s Development Committee in August. Public comments can be made on the plans until 14th June via the Council’s online planning portal.

The plans have been submitted by LocatED, a Government-owned property company tasked with finding land for free schools and Strategic Land Partnerships. The new Norton Hill Primary School will specialise in STEM subjects – Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths – and outdoor education.

The 4.7-hectare site, next to Norton Hill Secondary School, is currently farmed and outside of the town’s development boundary, but is allocated for a school in B&NES Council’s placemaking plan.

The application says: “The delivery of the new school is critical to the future provision of primary education within the local area. LocatED, on behalf of the Department for Education, has been working for some considerable time to identify a suitable site for a new Norton Hill Primary School. The need to provide the new school remains acute.

“Funding is in place and agreement has now been reached between the Department for Education, the School and Strategic Land Partnerships to proceed with the planning application for the development as quickly as possible.”

The application says demand for primary school places in the area is increasing every year – but delivery of a new school is not possible without the other elements of the proposed development.

It adds: “The proposed development will deliver a well-considered residential environment, providing a broad range of housing types and publicly accessible open space that would be an asset for the wider community, which will in turn enable and support the development of the school.

“Overall, the proposed development represents a sensible proposition in an established and sustainable location. It will provide much-needed new housing as well as many identifiable tangible and long-lasting benefits for the local area and the town.”

The development is expected to create fifty new jobs in association with the new school and between sixty and eighty for the care home and sheltered housing – an economic boost that offsets building outside the development boundary.

It would also see Silver Street widened to a consistent 6.2-metre width, enough for coaches to pass one another, and two new bus stops and a new pedestrian access would be created.