New sports plan for school's defunct pitch

Plans to add a floodlit 3G sports pitch at a Wolverhampton school have been submitted as part of a multi-million-pound expansion.

Colton Hills Community School, in Goldthorn Park, said its current pitch "has reached the end of its life" and was now closed.

The new facility would accommodate a full-size 11-a-side pitch that would also be divided into five-a-side and nine-a-side pitches with use for the local community at certain times.

At the start of the year, City of Wolverhampton Council agreed to refurbish and remodel the school to create space for 79 more pupils. The school also plans to establish a special educational needs (SEND) resource base for pupils.

A statement included with the application said: "The existing pitch has reached the end of its viable life, and has been closed as a result.

"The pitch formed an important part of the suite of sporting facilities at the school, and a replacement of higher quality and user value is needed."

Although not confirmed, the application has proposed normal school usage on Monday to Friday, 09:00 to 16:00 BST, with sole usage granted to the community between 16:00 and 20:00 on a weekday and longer at weekends.

To create space for extra pupils, there would be an extension to the school's sixth form to provide new changing rooms and showers as well as a new archive and record office.

Another extension would provide a larger gym and bigger changing rooms to accommodate the proposed rise in pupils.

The school will be required to expand further from September next year and permanently expanded from September 2027.

The resource base for pupils with social, emotional and mental health difficulties is expected to cost more than £6m, according to a cabinet report discussed by the council earlier this year.

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