PLANS for Southampton’s first-ever all-through school are set for approval.

A new 900-place four-to-16 school is set to be built at the site of St Mark’s Church of England Primary School and the nearby ex-civil service playing fields in Freemantle.

The plans were first unveiled in 2017 as Southampton City Council promised to create 1,500 new secondary places in the central region of the city by 2023.

According to the proposals, the existing school buildings will be demolished to make way for a new secondary and primary school.

A new sports building would be located centrally within the site serving all age groups.

The scheme is now set to be discussed by the Planning and Rights of Way Panel at Southampton City Council on February 11.

But a number of residents raised concerns over the impact the new school would have on traffic, air quality and the community.

Planning bosses hit back saying that a community use agreement will be negotiated to ensure residents have access to the facilities available at the school outside of formal school hours.

They said:"Whilst the playing pitches are publically accessible at present the land is legally designated as school playing fields under the education act and so must be used as school playing fields. Currently access by the public is permitted by the land owner (the school) on an informal basis. Due to the need to provide continuous education on site there will need to be a temporary school built on the playing field. This will result in a temporary loss of playing fields on site during construction."

A total of 57 parking spaces and 274 covered and secure cycle parking spaces will also be created at the site.

A report published ahead of Tuesday's meeting reads: "At the time of writing this report discussions are still taking place to secure the most effective highways, ecology and tree mitigation measures."

Planning officers are recommending for the planning panel to delegate to the Head of Planning and Economic Development to grant planning permission.

They said: "The application is recommended favourably and delegation is needed to secure details of BREEAM and highways impact mitigation."

The new school is expected to open in 2022.