COUNCILLORS are meeting tomorrow (Tuesday, November 4) to discuss plans to rebuild a secondary school in East Durham.

Planning officers have recommended the multi million pound proposals for the new Seaham School of Technology for approval.

Members of the planning committee are meeting at County Hall in Durham at 2pm to debate the application for the development on the former Seaham Colliery site.

The 1,200 capacity school will include places for 345 more pupils than the existing site and the new building will be built in an ‘E’ shape.

Ann Rawlinson, senior planning officer at Durham County Council, said: “The existing school located on Burnhall Drive, Seaham demonstrates the typical attributes of buildings that are reaching the end of their serviceable life such as deteriorating structural fabric, leaks, poor insulation and poor service distribution to support new technologies.

“The existing school comprises of a number of buildings whose functionality is hindered by their spread across a large area with multiple level changes between and within buildings resulting, overall, in poor educational, faculty and social facilities.”

The school is one of 12 across the North-East to have been allocated Government money for a rebuild and the sixth to progress to the planning stage.

Shiney Row School, Hylton Castle, Hetton School all in Sunderland, and Lingey House Primary School, and Roman Road Primary School in Gateshead, have already been approved.

If the plan is approved, work by Miller Construction is set to get underway by mid-2015.

Seaham Colliery closed in 1987 and in 2002 access roads were created with the expectation that the site would become a housing estate.

Ms Rawlinson said the new development is considered acceptable in terms of highway safety, access, parking and the impact of traffic.

She said: “The site is located within the built up area of Seaham, within a sustainable and accessible location.

“The proposal would make effective re-use of a previously developed site in need of regeneration, enhancing its setting within its surroundings.

“The proposal is considered to improve the provision of education, social and community sports facilities for the benefit of children and the wider community within the Seaham area.”