THE delivery of Bridgwater’s newest primary school has moved closed after more than £7.7m of funding from local housing developments was committed by councillors.

Bridgwater’s southern edge has seen significant housing growth in recent years, with the delivery of the Wilstock and Stockmoor ‘villages’ putting a significant strain on local primary schools.

With construction of 511 new homes within the Bridgwater Gateway site expected to begin some time in 2026, the need to deliver the new Wilstock Primary School is becoming much more pressing.

Somerset Council has now officially allocated £7,742,000 towards the project, generated by the community infrastructure levy (CIL) paid by housing developers – meaning that building work will soon be able to start.

Outline planning permission for the new school on Cosmos Drive was secured by Bloor Homes South West in July 2018, as part of the third phase of the Wilstock Village development comprising 248 homes and a community hub.

The majority of these homes have now been delivered, with school pupils currently having to travel to the Somerset Bridge Primary School in the neighbouring Stockmoor Village estate – or further afield to other local schools.

The council confirmed its intentions to build the school in its capital programme in February, as part of its annual budget setting process, and is intending for the new facility to begin welcoming pupils in September 2027.

The council’s policy and transport policy sub-committee formally voted on Tuesday morning (April 8) to allocate CIL funding for the project – following on from a similar vote in February surrounding the expansion of Puriton Primary School near Somerset’s new ‘gigafactory’.

Phil Curd, the council’s head of education places, told the sub-committee that the need for the new school was pressing in light of rising birth rates across Somerset and the imminent construction of the Bridgwater Gateway homes.

He said: “While the birth rate has been going down in recent years, the birth rate in Somerset has increased in 2024 by 6.7 per cent – and in each year group in the early years community, it has increased by 2 or 3 per cent.

The two nearest primary schools – North Petherton and Somerset Bridge Primary Schools – have “very few places available” , with council officers forecasting they will be at or near capacity for the next five years.

As of January (the most recent figures available), there were 1,001 primary aged children living in these two catchments – but only enough space for 840 pupils, with Hamp Infant School having to increase its capacity as a result.

All other schools in Bridgwater are outside of the two-mile statutory walking distance – meaning the council would legally have to pay to transport pupils to and from there if it could not provide more local capacity.

The new primary school will initially have enough space for 210 pupils and a 40-place nursery, and will be designed in such a way that it can be expanded in the years after its completion as pupil number grow – much like the recently delivered Orchard Grove Primary School in Taunton.

Both the Wilstock project and the Puriton expansion include a contingency of “between seven and ten per cent” – with Mr Curd stating he was “confident” both projects would come in on budget.

Councillor Mike Rigby, portfolio holder for economic development, planning and assets, remarked light-heartedly: “All this seems to be contributing inexorably to the rise of North Petherton at the centre of the universe.

“I look forward to its application to become the county town, and if we get a combined mayoral authority in Somerset, it will be the seat of power.”

Haygrove School in Bridgwater was partially shut in August 2023 due to safety concerns, with the Department for Education (DfE) promising in December 2024 that it would build a replacement school as soon as possible – most likely on nearby land at Queenswood Farm.