A new academy will be built after councillors gave the plans a hesitant thumbs up – just days after deferring the matter.

The secondary school will be built in Frindsbury, along with 181 new homes and a wedding venue within a Grade I-listed barn.

A decision on the matter was previously delayed after being dropped from the planning committee's agenda on August 18.

This was after new information was received from English Heritage which needed to be scrutinised by officers.

The site is between the A289 Berwick Way, Upnor Road, Parsonage Lane and A228 Frindsbury Hill.

The homes – a quarter of which will be affordable – are due to be built on what was an old quarry, which has been filled in.

Councillors debated the plans for two-and-a-half hours during a special committee meeting Thursday evening.

Many raised concerns about the impact on traffic on the surrounding roads and questioned whether there was a more appropriate site for the 1,150-place school, which will be known as the Maritime Academy.

They also expressed their frustration over the plans coming before the committee as a 'hybrid application', rather than three separate ones.

Cllr Elizabeth Turpin (Con), who represents the area, noted air pollution issues on surrounding rounds.

She said: "Putting a school in this location cannot be a healthy environment for children.

"Not only will this development worsen the air quality for the area but will also subject more residents and children to it.

"Placing a school and 181 dwellings on this site will have a significant negative impact on the functioning of an already stressed area."

The council's head of planning, Dave Harris, told councillors how the "carbon neutral" school was necessary to cope with demand within the catchment area.

He warned turning down the plans could put at risk the £40 million investment being put forward by the Department for Education to provide a new school in the Medway Towns.

He also explained how the creation of the housing was essential to secure £4.7m which will go towards converting Manor Farm Barn, thus securing its long-term future.

This is because the barn is currently unoccupied leaving it susceptible to vandalism and means there is limited structural management.

He said: "The fact vandals got in in 2003 and set fire to it was because there wasn't a use for it and there wasn't protection."

Under the plans, the 14th-century building will become a venue for weddings and conferences for up to 164 guests. Overnight accommodation with 10 bedrooms would be created out of an old cow shed on the site.

Mr Harris described the barn – once one of the longest in England – as having "national importance" and being a "jewel in Medway's crown".

Regarding the housing plans – which include houses, maisonettes and flats – he said: "We do know that if we are going to meet our very serious housing needs that are imposed on us, we can't get all of those developments within our town centres and we are going to have to go onto some agricultural land."

He went on to explain how not approving the plans could risk an appeal having to be defended by the council which would be funded by the public purse.

A number of highways alterations are planned under the scheme. The housing and school would be accessed via Frindsbury Hill and the barn from Berwick Way.

Changes will also be made to the Sans Pareil roundabout, which is also part of the council's HIF proposals and include a series of traffic lights around the junction.

The committee voted 11 in favour and four against the plans.

The authority was ordered to compensate the applicant, BAPT Ltd, with the cost of its appeal which was £4,210 plus VAT.

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