A NEW primary school being built in Wellington has been branded 'a mess' by councillors.

Wellington Town Council's planning committee met on Monday night (May 13) to discuss the planning application for the building of the new Isambard Kingdom Brunel Primary School at the Longforth Road development.

The school will be run by The Castle Partnership Trust, which also runs The Castle School in Taunton.

The land was reserved for a primary school under a s.106 agreement when the development of houses was given approval.

The plans are currently going through the planning process, which includes going before WTC for discussion, before the new Somerset West and Taunton Council planners make a decision.

The site layout proved to be a hot topic of discussion, with councillors stating more imagination needed to be used.

Councillor Andrew Govier, who also sits on the new SWT Council and Somerset County Council, said: "I think the layout is not very good.

"It looks quite a mess. It's a real shame.

"I made this point during the consultation.

"The layout seems rather strange.

"It just strikes me, with some imagination, there could have been a much better layout.

"It does seem to me because it's an academy system, they do their own thing.

"I'm not prepared to say we should object as I don't want to delay the process."

The plans for the new school feature a 'modular design'. This means the buildings could be factory built elsewhere, before being transported to the site.

Portakabin, the developer, says this approach, which has already been used to deliver other schools, offers advantages to projects with repeatable elements.

By using this method, construction time on-site would be minimised.

Somerset County Gazette:

Cllr John Thorne said: "I share cllr Govier's concerns about the look of the building.

"It's said they will have 100 years of life. I'm not sure I would want them there for 100 years.

"If they are going to be there for 100 years, it needs a much better design."

Cllr Thorne also commented on the computer images within the plan, which suggest the school is portrayed as being in the middle of a 'Scandinavian forrest', rather than the reality of being surrounded by housing.

Cllr Vivienne Stock-Williams, who is also a district councillor, said the school was 'long-awaited'.

Despite their concerns, the council voted to support the application for the new school in principle.