Trumpington receives planning approval

Plans for the first new secondary school in Cambridge for more than 50 years have been approved.

Construction of Trumpington Community College, which will open at the heart of the Clay Farm development in September 2015, got the green light today.

Councillors described designs for the £17 million school, which will cater for 750 pupils, as “brilliant”.

The last secondary school to open in the city was St Bede’s in Birdwood Road, which welcomed its first pupils in 1962.

Cllr Caroline Shepherd, who represents Trumpington and is a member of the development control committee which approved the application, said she “absolutely welcomed” the project.

Speaking after the meeting, she said: “It is brilliantly designed with all the new school practices.

“What is good is that it was designed from the start as a community asset, not as a school with high fences.

“And it’s brilliant to think that this is being planned from the start of the development, rather than later on.”

However, Cllr Shepherd said she had concerns about the limited number of car parking spaces proposed – there will be just 15, plus three disabled spaces.

Pupils and staff will be encouraged to walk, cycle, or get the bus.

The school, which will specialise in science teaching, will be part of the Parkside Federation.

It will have flexible classrooms around a central atrium, and a community sports centre including a main hall and fitness suite, as well as playing fields which will be open to the public.

Amir Ramezani, a director of Avanti Architects, which designed the school, said the aim had been to create a “vibrant” learning environment.

He said: “The consent represents a lot of hard work by the design team, by the school, and by the local authorities.

“It has been a really collaborative approach to try to create a 21st-century learning environment.”