THE expansion of Wilmslow High School looks set to be approved by councillors, after planning officers recommended the scheme go ahead.

The plans, which will increase places per year from 300 to 360 for years 7 to 11, is set to cost Cheshire East Council £12 million.

CEC officials say the project is needed to address the current 111-place shortfall at the school, which is forecasted to rise to 257 by 2025.

However support is not wholly widespread, as Wilmslow Town Council has written a letter of objection, saying: “[We] recommend refusal of this application on the grounds of additional traffic congestion at both the Holly Road and A34 entrances and the proposed solutions still being inadequate to resolve these issues.

“In addition, the proposal to create an entrance off Broadway Meadow does not appear to take into consideration the likelihood of a multi-storey car park being constructed on this site.”

In justifying its recommended approval, planning officers responded to the concerns — that the new drop-off/pick-up measures would be inadequate to relieve congestion.

Officers wrote in a pre-meeting report: “There are substantial changes to parking and drop off especially at the Broadway access that will allow parents to enter the site rather than stopping on Broadway to drop children, the improvements at the Holly Road western roundabout are not as extensive but will provide larger area to aid drop off and this will also reduce congestion.”

It is hoped that the scheme will provide a more long-term solution to the over-subscription of places, with the proposals including ‘a single-storey extension to the main building, a further extension linking the existing Olympic Hall and Sports Hall blocks plus significant internal re-modelling and other works as a result of the scheme development.’

New routes will also be created all over the site to reduce ‘pinch points’ and make it easier for pupils to move around the site.

If given approval by the planning committee, work is scheduled to be completed by September 2023.

Councillors will meet to discuss the plans at 10am on November 4.