Hope Community School has operated from temporary accommodation on the Central Hall site in St Mary Street since opening in 2017.
The Department for Education (DfE) agreed to buy the nearby land on the corner of Lime Street and Evans Street from Southampton City Council several years ago.
A planning application has now been submitted by Morgan Sindall on DfE’s behalf to build the school on the former East Street Shopping Centre site.
A statement prepared by planning agent Vail Williams said: “This new school facility for Hope Community School is urgently needed as a permanent home for a school that has been open in temporary accommodation since 2017.
“It is an established part of the diverse, local community, delivering a high-quality educational provision, despite operating from a temporary location at Central Hall and utilising mobile classrooms, with limited outdoor space.”
CGI of plans for the new Hope Community School building on the former East Street Shopping Centre site. Picture: Noviun Architects/Morgan Sindall/SCC planning portal
The proposed development features a three-storey teaching block and a 1.5-storey hall space, with a kitchen area.
Outdoor play facilities include a hard court marked for football and basketball and grass areas for games such as mini rounds and ball skills.
Hope Community School, which was Southampton’s first mainstream free school, currently operates as a one-form entry with 220 pupils on the roll.
If approved and built, the new site will deliver an expansion to a two-form entry primary school eventually supporting 420 pupils.
Staff numbers would increase from 42 to 62.
The planning statement said: “The scheme will provide a permanent home for an existing school currently operating from temporary accommodation, delivering substantial educational, social and community benefits.”
Around 200 solar panels would be installed on the school’s roof and air source heat pumps have been chosen as the primary heating source for the building.
CGI of plans for the new Hope Community School building on the former East Street Shopping Centre site. Picture: Noviun Architects/Morgan Sindall/SCC planning portal
The land, which has sat vacant for 13 years, is allocated for a retail-led development in council planning policy.
A previous supermarket proposal was approved for the site in 2013 but it was never implemented, while a 15-storey 268-bed hotel scheme was withdrawn in 2022.
The planning statement said the school is proposing to make the assembly hall, music, drama classroom will be available for community use outside normal school hours.
A public consultation on the application, which has been submitted to Southampton City Council, is open until Friday, March 20.