Plans to expand a primary school so it can accept over 200 new pupils have been agreed.

The proposals to build more classrooms at Littleport Community Primary School were put forward to meet the demand for school places being created by hundreds of new homes being built in the area.

Cambridgeshire County Council set out plans to extend the existing school building to add seven new classrooms.

The extra space means the school will be able to take an additional 210 pupils, increasing from 420 students to 630.

Additional teachers and teaching assistants are also due to be employed.

The new classrooms created in the single-storey extension are proposed to be used by Key Stage 2 pupils.

In the planning application the county council highlighted some of the housing developments that have been approved in the area in recent years and the impact this was having on the number of children needing school places.

These included the 397 homes approved for land off Woodfen Road, which the county council said were expected to add 119 to 140 new primary school pupils to the area.

The authority also highlighted the plans to build 680 homes on land north of Grange Lane, which is expected to add 200 to 270 new primary school pupils to the area.

The plans said: “The need for the extension is a result of local need that will arise from the new housing that has been granted planning permission and will be constructed in the near future. The new facilities are planned to open early 2025 to accommodate this need.”

The planning department at the county council assessed the application and agreed to grant permission for the development.

In a report planning officers said: “The proposed extension to the school would be sited within the school grounds and would be approximately 60 metres away from the residential properties to the east and would be predominantly screened by the existing school building.

“The scale and form of the extension would have no impact in terms of bulk, overshadowing or overbearing on residential properties.

“The proposed hard and soft landscaping would not have a detrimental impact on the amenity of neighbouring properties.”