PLANS to build a brand new secondary school with state of the art facilities in East Wichel have been unveiled to the public for the first time.

A consultation was held at the Stowaway Community Centre yesterday to give residents the chance to air their views on the proposals.

Andy Hamer, of the Education Funding Agency, which is sponsored by the Department for Education to manage the funding for all state-provided education, was keen to stress the benefits of the venture

He said: “We are here today to hold a pre-submission consultation for this very exciting project. This school will be located right in the heart of the Wichel development area and will bring many benefits to the local community.

“We are looking to get public support and this is the first chance people have had to see what’s on the table.”

The Deanery CofE Academy will be a secondary school for pupils aged 11 to 18 and will be situated near Waitrose in East Wichel.

Development firm BAM are hoping to have the plans formally submitted to Swindon Borough Council by February 4, and the project, funded predominantly by the EFA, will likely be completed by September 2019. The council is expected to contribute around £9m to the development.

Sue Wilkinson, project director of the Diocese of Bristol Academies Trust, said: “We have some really exciting things on offer here. There will be an all-weather pitch suitable for playing hockey, which will be a huge attraction for Swindon. The nearest ones of this quality are in Reading, Bristol and Malmesbury.

“There will be a 450-seat auditorium which can be used by community groups and a 100-seat lecture theatre which can be used for conferences or for hosting bigger events.

“Also, being a Church of England school it will act as an ecumenical centre for the community. We are hoping to build up a good user group from as wide an area as possible.”

BAM representative Rob Shipp said: “We like to build schools for people and we can see there will be a lot of community benefit here.

“There’s a of support for the sports facilities and we think they will be a great asset for the area.

“We are very excited about the project and we are keen to get going.”

One resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “I think these plans are great. The school looks really good and we’ll certainly be hoping our kids will go when they’re old enough.”

Another local, who also wished to stay anonymous, said she was pleased, but did have one worry.

She said: “I’m a bit concerned about what the traffic will be like. I can imagine it will be much busier once the school’s built.

“The design looks impressive, though.”

Yesterday’s consultation was held from 3pm until 8pm at the Stowaway Centre and the developers were happy to listen to people’s suggestions and concerns.