Staff at a secondary school in Shrewsbury are seeking permission to build a brand new dance studio for students.

Belvidere School in Crowmere Road has applied for planning permission to build a 12 metre by 10 metre dance studio on land near the south-west corner of the main school site. The school claims the new building would increase the time that pupils could spend on dance, which it says is a popular pastime for pupils.

A design and access statement in support of the scheme said: “Dance is an important and popular part of the curriculum, there are after school dance clubs and school productions and talent shows are held from time to time.

“Dance sessions currently take place in part of the school hall. This is unsatisfactory as the same space is used for a number of other purposes, in particular for lunchtime meals, and for external exams with significant constraints on the times available for dance.

“Therefore a dedicated dance space is sought in order to avoid conflicts with other activities and to provide improved facilities. It would not lead to an increase in pupil numbers.”

The design and access statement said extending the school hall to include a dance studio would be too costly and disruptive.

It added that other potential sites on the school grounds were considered too close to neighbouring houses.

It said: “The site is currently landscaped, and it will be necessary to remove two cherry trees and a birch.

“The building will remain screened from the site boundary by other trees and by an earth bund and will be as close to the main school buildings as possible.”

The studio will include an entrance lobby and storage space. No windows are proposed in order to minimise sound transmission and to minimise potential distractions, but there will be some non-opening rooflights.