A special needs school will relocate three miles to a larger two-storey building if a planning application is successful.

Builders Wates Construction have applied for permission to build a new site for the Edith Borthwick School in Springwood Drive, Braintree.

The school, which caters for youngsters with learning disabilities aged three to 19, is seeking to move because of cramped conditions at its current site in Church Street, Bocking.

The existing building, which was built in 1976, has a capacity for 160 pupils, but relocation will create an extra 30 spaces.

Last year, Essex County Council (ECC) paid £1.6million including fees and legal costs to buy land in Springwood Drive, Braintree, a two hectare site located next to the Xpect Leisure fitness club.

Braintree and Witham Times: