Council bosses are ready to strike a land swap deal with a pub's owners, so they can get a new Norfolk school built.
Norfolk County Council wants to build a school for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) on land near North Denes Primary School in Great Yarmouth.
North Denes Primary School moved from a 1930s building on its Jellicoe Road site to new buildings nearby in 2021 - leaving part of the site available to house the new SEND school.
But officers at Conservative-controlled County Hall recognise that proposed new school will mean a "significant increase" in traffic.
Access to the school is via land the council owns at the next door Iron Duke public house, but the authority needs to widen that route.
The Grade II-listed Art Deco pub is in the hands of the Great Yarmouth Preservation Trust, which is pursuing lottery cash as part of plans to turn it into a Zak's restaurant.
The council needs to obtain land from the preservation trust in order to widen the road leading to the new school.
And, at a recent meeting of the council's cabinet, councillors agreed to push ahead with a land swap.
That would see County Hall get the land it needs and the trust given some nearby council-owned land surplus to the council's requirements.
A report which went before the council's cabinet stated: "Without the land required for the access road widening, Norfolk County Council would effectively be prevented from developing the northern part of the North Denes Primary School site for a new school and would potentially need to acquire land for this purpose elsewhere on an open-market basis.
"The director of property considers the proposed transfer of land to the trust in exchange for the land required for the access road widening represents the most pragmatic and best financial outcome for the council."
READ MORE: Norfolk County Council warning over money for SEND children
The council's proposals for the new school are linked to discussions
with the Department for Education over delivery and funding, which have yet to be concluded.
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