Not only are Hillbourne Primary School pupils to have a new building, but it is planned to have 100 new affordable homes nearby.

BCP Council has submitted an application to build 41 three-bedroom and 40 two-bedroom homes as well as 29 independent living one-bedroom apartments on either side of the new school building in Kitchener Crescent.

The homes will be a mix of affordable rented for those residents currently waiting on the housing register as well as shared ownership. The houses will all have their own gardens and included in the plans is 184 parking spaces for residents and visitors. Plans incorporate a natural pond, hedge planting and additional tree planting on site.

The planning application follows public engagement working with Poole Housing Partnership (PHP).

Cllr Robert Lawton, portfolio holder for Housing, said: “We are committed to delivering much needed affordable housing for local people including good quality family homes and accommodation suitable for older residents. The scheme will provide a mix of affordable rented as well as shared ownership giving local people the opportunity to get on the property ladder.”

The new school building is due to be open in the autumn. The land either side of the new site where the old school buildings stand will no longer be required and it will free up that land for the development of new homes.

Subject to planning permission, work on the new homes could get underway by May 2022 with the aim to complete the first phase by the summer of 2024.