THE nearest school to Somerset’s new £4bn gigafactory will be expanded by September 2026 using funding from nearby housing developments.

Puriton Primary School is located on Rowlands Rise at the southern end of Puriton, and currently has capacity for 210 pupils.

Local housing growth, including the delivery of 120 homes at the Polden Orchards site on Woolavington Road, mean that the school will be oversubscribed by September 2026.

Somerset Council has now indicated a new classroom at the school will begin construction before the end of the year, funded by £700,000 from housing developments in and around the village.

The council is responsible for delivering new, replacement or expanded schools through its capital programme, with funding coming from external grants, borrowing or contributions from housing developers.

Housing developers’ contributions can be secured through one of two mechanisms – either a Section 106 agreement (which provides funding for amenities within or very near a given housing development) or the community infrastructure levy (CIL, which allows funds to be pooled from developments across a wider area).

Of the £700,000 needed to construct the new classroom in Puriton, £558,000 will come from the council’s CIL pot and £142,000 will be sourced from local Section 106 agreements.

The new classroom was formally approved by the council’s planning and transport policy sub-committee when it met in Taunton on Tuesday morning (February 11).

Sarah Love, the council’s service manager for education and childcare places, said in her written report: “Puriton Primary School is a seven-class primary school with a net capacity of 210.

“As of September 2024, there are 203 pupils on roll, which is in line with the school population forecasts.

“Polden Orchards is a housing development of 120 dwellings, including 36 affordable homes, and is being built half a mile from the primary school.

“This development has been included in the 2023 school population forecast, which indicates that the net capacity will be exceeded by 2026, with pupil numbers reaching 227 by 2028.”

The council intends to formally commission the new classroom project in April, going out to tender for construction in June and awarding the contract for the work by September.

Construction work will begin on site in October, meaning the new classroom will be ready to accommodate pupils by the autumn term of 2026.

Council leader Bill Revans – whose North Petherton division has experienced significant housing growth in recent years – welcomed the project, stating it was crucial that the communities nearest the gigafactory have sufficient infrastructure as the investment rolled in.

He said: “There is considerable development in and around Bridgwater, and pressure due to the level of inward investment that’s coming in.

“We need to be aware that we will have a sufficiency issue if we do not enable these facilities to expand.”