A new £12m school to cope with an influx of pupils from hundreds of new homes looks set to get the go-ahead.

Plans for the 420-place primary school in Blofield, to replace the village's existing school, are being recommended for approval.

Norfolk County Council officers are advising councillors on County Hall's planning committee to award permission for the new school, off Plantation Road.

That is despite it being against an agreed development plan and with 29 people having objected.

Eastern Daily Press: The current Blofield Primary SchoolThe current Blofield Primary School (Image: Newsquest)

Council education officers said the new building is needed because the current school is already oversubscribed, yet more than 400 homes are due to be built in Blofield over the next decade.

The new building, to be built about 250m away from the current school site, would include 14 classrooms and group rooms, along with a central library and multi-purpose hall.

There would also be a kitchen, toilets, administration areas, changing rooms and storage spaces.

READ MORE: Work starts on new Cringleford primary school building

But the location - outside the village's boundaries - means it goes against development plan policies for Blofield which specify where new buildings are acceptable.

The council has also had 29 objections, with many concerned over safety implications a new pedestrian route to the school from Farman Way could have.

Objectors were worried parents would use Farman Way to drop off children, and that the road was unsafe for youngsters to walk along.

However, council officers said plans for that pedestrian route have now been scrapped.

READ MORE: New school for Silfield, near Wymondham, gets permission

They said: "There have been a large number of third-party representations, mostly
objections with some supporting comments.

"The representations received have been primarily concerned with the potential provision of a second pedestrian link to the school from Farman Way to the south, but this has been reviewed and is not part of the proposal."

They said even though the scheme does not fit with the development plan, policies do support community facilities outside the village boundaries if appropriate.

A decision will be made on Friday (July 21).