Work will begin on new school

It is full steam ahead for Whitehill and Bordon’s new secondary school following the granting of planning permission by Hampshire County Council, which aims to have spades in the ground by autumn.The new Mill Chase Academy will be constructed on former playing fields at Budds Lane and, when complete, will cater for 900 students, with space left open for a future expansion.The county council’s regulatory committee granted planning permission for the new school on June 21 and now the site is closed to the public. Work will start over the summer to prepare the land for handover to the county council’s contractors, ready for construction to start in autumn.The school’s current premises, in Mill Chase Road, will close at the end of the summer term in 2019, with students beginning the 2019-2020 academic year at the new facility.County council leader Roy Perry agreed an investment of £10million towards the £30m development costs. The overall balance of funding will see contributions from the Whitehill and Bordon Regeneration Company, the Homes and Communities Agency, East Hampshire District Council and the Education and Skills Funding Agency.