IT is full steam ahead for Whitehill and Bordon’s new secondary school following the granting of planning permission by Hampshire County Council, which aims to have spades in the ground by autumn.

The new Mill Chase Academy will be constructed on former playing fields at Budds Lane and, when complete, will cater for 900 students, with space left open for a future expansion.

The county council’s regulatory committee granted planning permission for the new school on June 21 and now the site is closed to the public. Work will start over the summer to prepare the land for handover to the county council’s contractors, ready for construction to start in autumn.

The school’s current premises, in Mill Chase Road, will close at the end of the summer term in 2019, with students beginning the 2019-2020 academic year at the new facility.

County council leader Roy Perry agreed an investment of £10million towards the £30m development costs. The overall balance of funding will see contributions from the Whitehill and Bordon Regeneration Company, the Homes and Communities Agency, East Hampshire District Council and the Education and Skills Funding Agency.

James Child, the Whitehill and Bordon Regeneration Company’s project lead, said: “We are delighted to be working with Hampshire County Council to provide this new educational provision for the children of Whitehill and Bordon, as part of the regeneration programme.

“Plans are for the new school to accommodate up to 900 children in the first instance, with the ability to expand to up to 1,200 places in the future.”

County councillor Adam Carew (Conservative, Whitehill, Bordon and Lindford) said it was “fantastic news” that work could start on the new building.

“We have long argued that a brand new, state-of-the-art secondary school is essential for the transformation of our town,” he said.

“Despite (the school) being an academy and no longer under direct aegis of Hampshire County Council, county are still investing considerable sums to make this new school a reality.

“The school will include sports and leisure facilities that will be open to the public. In line with our Green Vision, I have requested native-tree planting around the perimeter and solar photovoltaic (panels) on the roof.

“The school will be made ready to tap into the town centre’s energy centre.

“This new secondary school will be a fantastic new facility for our town.”

He said this new secondary school - along with extensions to Bordon Junior School in Budds Lane, the building of a new town primary school and the construction of the Future Skills (training) Centre - showed “the county council’s commitment to making new educational and training facilities key to the future of Whitehill and Bordon”.

Mill Chase Academy is currently located on a shared site in buildings which, due to their age, are beginning to deteriorate and are set to be demolished to make way for future development, probably housing.

As creating more school places is said to be a key part of the town regeneration, the new academy will be provided in tandem with expansion work to Bordon junior and infant schools, in Budds Lane. With additional facilities for young people in the pipeline, that whole stretch of town is set to become a youth hub.

Hampshire County Council’s executive member for education Peter Edgar welcomed the decision to grant planning permission.

“We have been working with Mill Chase Academy, the University of Chichester Academy Trust and the Ministry of Defence’s development partner (the Whitehill and Bordon Regeneration Company), to develop the plans for the new school facility,” he said.

“The new buildings, designed by our experienced team of designers, will provide an opportunity for the academy to continue to strengthen the quality and range of educational opportunities for the local area.

“Our commitment to the delivery of new school buildings is a further example of the key and active role that this council has in the regeneration. This commitment includes providing the essential infrastructure needed for the new town.”

The Future Skills Centre, at the former Louisburg Barracks, is due to open later this year.