A £30 million education campus has been supported by Copeland councillors.

The plans, which would see a purpose-built campus for St Benedict’s School and Mayfield School on one site, have been backed by the council’s planning panel.

There are also proposals for sports pitches, facilities, car parking and landscaping on the site, at St Benedict’s School, as well as new access onto Moresby Road and Red Lonning.

The plans, submitted by Cumbria County Council, would see the two schools in two separate blocks and linked by a central area which would accommodate the sports hall, the dining area for St Benedict’s and facilities for Mayfield School including a hydrotherapy pool.

“This is designed to provide a modern, fit for purpose education facility,” said Nick Hayhurst, a Copeland planning officer, at the meeting in Whitehaven Civic Hall.

“It is expected the all-weather pitch will be available for community use and it is a big benefit that the access point off Red Lonning will be a one way system, leaving at Moresby Parks road. At the moment there is a big issue with drop-off and pick-up.

“Overall this is a suitable development for an education campus meeting the specific needs of both schools with enhanced sports facilities and significant improvements to parking.”

The county council is the planning authority for the proposed new-build. Its development, control and regulation committee is set to consider the proposals at a meeting next month.

The investment in the campus comes from a range of partners including The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, Sellafield Ltd, Copeland council, Copeland Community Fund and Cumbria County Council.

The proposed layout has been influenced by the need to keep the existing St Benedict’s School during construction. Once the new-build is up and running, there are proposals to demolish the former St Benedict’s school buildings.

A report which was presented to councillors stated: “The schools have different functional requirements and the proposal seeks to meet these needs whist integrating the facilities within a joint campus.

“Any detrimental impacts can be mitigated and the improvements to the access and parking provision within the site will result in significant improvements which will help to alleviate congestion.”