New school building approved for Sunderland's Southmoor Academy

Proposals were lodged in 2019 for a new two-storey building at Southmoor Academy on Ryhope Road.

This aimed to provide six classrooms, including an equipped science lab with a prep room, alongside toilets and office/storage areas.

According to planning documents, the building is planned for a site at the rear of the school overlooking sports fields and all-weather pitches near Southmoor House.

It will also allow the school to cater for new subjects and will be predominantly used by the sixth form.

A Planning and Heritage Statement states “a first-rate teaching space is essential for today’s teaching requirements.”

It goes on to say:“The school’s strategy is to provide more modern energy efficient space to facilitate the new students, with good modern facilities including science labs to incorporate more sciences into the curriculum.”

The planning application was approved by the council’s planning department on Friday, May 1.

Under planning conditions, work must take place within the next three years.

A council decision report reads: “The proposal is acceptable in terms of the principle of the proposal, its design and appearance, impact on the residential amenities of the occupiers of the nearby residential properties, highway implications of the proposal (and) any impacts associated with ecology.

“The land is considered to be suitable with regard to the risks associated with contamination and the proposal would cause no issues in terms of potential noise and disturbance.”

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper.

Thank you

How to subscribe to the print edition

It’s easy to subscribe to your local newspaper. We have arranged a special 20 per cent off subscription offer for people to take advantage of. Visit www.localsubsplus.co.uk, choose the newspaper title, the type of subscription and enter your details.