PLANS for the new Launceston Primary Academy on the Hay Common estate were revealed during a public exhibition on Wednesday, March 11, to launch the consultation period.

The new primary school will be a two storey modular building of more than 2,000m² that comprises teaching accommodation, including a main entrance/reception, hall, kitchen, staff and administration area, two Reception classrooms, four infant classrooms and six junior classrooms.

There will also be additional space for group rooms, a library, studio and a food and science room.

The building will be surrounded by landscaped grounds, with associated car and cycle parking with a 9v9 Sports England pitch and Multi Use Games Area (MUGA) included. The school will have the capacity for 420 pupils.

The proposed development designs have been created by construction specialist Caledonian Modular and architectural practice Stride Treglown. Feedback received during the consultation will be collated by development consultancy Pegasus Group. This information will form the basis of a report which will be presented to Cornwall Council for consideration alongside any planning application submitted.

During the exhibition Tom Dolan, design manager for Caledonian Modular, said: “Currently we are doing public consultation work prior to the planning submission which will be in the next couple of weeks.

“This is an opportunity for people to share their views and to give feedback prior to us making a full planning application. We always want to engage with the local community — we understand in a small community like this the school is needed, it has been identified as being needed and we are excited to be able to work on it.”

Explaining what a ‘modular building’ is, Mr Dolan said: “A modular building is essentially like a pre fabricated building where it is built in sections. It allows for offsite construction while the foundations are being done. It just steps the process up and we can deliver a project quicker with less disruption to the local residents. The key for us is working with the community.”

This style of design means the proposed school could be completed, Mr Dolan said, by April 2021.

As part of the public exhibition, the design team were offering members of the public the opportunity to experience what it would be like inside the school once it is built thanks to virtual reality technology.

Testing the technology the Post was taken on a virtual tour of one of the classrooms. Mr Dolan was very proud of this new innovation which allowed the design team to demonstrate in detail their plans. He said: “It shows people, who maybe aren’t used to looking at architectural drawings, what it will be like — it is there in three dimensions so people can see what the classrooms will look like.”

Following the exhibition the Post contacted the executive principal of Launceston College Multi Academy Trust (MAT) chief executive Claire Penfold to find out more about why they chose the modular design and how the school would look to fill its intake.

She said: “The DfE specification states that the building structure must have a life span of 60 years or more.  Other elements of the building such as windows, doors, roof, sanitaryware etc have a reduced expectation but the specification requires that these can be replaced easily and cost-effectively.

“The school will open with reception children only and children will not come from other schools.”

The school also appears to be undergoing a name change. Confirming, Ms Penfold added: “The school is currently on record as Launceston College Primary Campus, however, we will go through a process to change the name to something shorter such as Launceston Primary school.”

Members of the public have until March 25 to submit their comments on the proposed designs for the town’s new school. To submit a comment online visit www.launcestonprimaryschoolconsultation.co.uk