TENSIONS flared between residents, councillors and designers over detailed plans for a £27m superschool to replace Darton High.
Concerns were raised by councillors and the public over the guarantee of funding for the project, aspects of its design, the level of disruption during construction and vehicle access on and off site.
The debate was sparked at an area forum following a presentation on the Advanced Learning Centre. The council's head of infrastructure, Tom Storey, and Derek Latham from designers Laing O'Rourke outlined plans for each of the three floors of the school, paying particular attention to its design and the access.
After the presentation Coun Roy Miller, of the Darton east ward, asked Mr Latham whether considerations had been made for surface water run-off and if a proposed access roundabout to be built on Ballfield Lane would be gated off at night to prevent youths gathering.
He was told sustainable drainage would be used to channel water into the ground and the site would be closed off at 10pm to avoid antisocial behaviour.
Full report in this week's Chronicle
