Plans for new facilities at Dawlish's Orchard Manor School have been approved by Devon County Council.

The development management committee supported the proposal for a multi-purpose hall and vocational workshop at the residential school for pupils with special educational needs, at its meeting on Wednesday, October 21.

The development will enable the school to accommodate more pupils and staff, and will also provide 28 extra parking spaces, eliminating the need for staff to park on the residential roads outside the school site in John Nash Drive.

In his report to the committee, chief planning officer Mike Deaton said: "It is considered that the proposed development would provide a significant improvement to the teaching facilities and will allow for an increase in pupil numbers.

"This will provide a significant benefit to pupils with special educational needs in and around Dawlish."

What will be built there?

The plans will see a new single storey multi-purpose hall built in the centre of the school site, to be used for whole school assemblies, school events, small group teaching and physiotherapy.

There will also be a new single-storey vocational workshop with a covered area and associated external works in the south-east corner of the site, including a two-metre high weld mesh secure fence, which will link to the existing fence line.

The workshop will be used for teaching vocational subjects including catering, motor mechanics, construction and horticulture.

The application also includes a new internal road that will loop around the upper and lower parts of the site. This will provide better traffic management than the existing three separate roadways into the school, all of which require two-way-traffic. There will be a safe pick-up and drop-off area, along with 28 additional car parking spaces.

After the development is completed, pupil numbers will rise from 176 to 210, and staff numbers from 149 to 164.

The cabinet member for schools, Cllr James McInnes, told the committee: "There has been a tremendous amount of work in the background and to put together the project so we have more places, but (also) improve the facilities that are available to children with SEN that will be attending."