A BURY primary school has applied to retain a Portakabin used as a classroom for five more years.

The building was installed due to an increase in pupil numbers at East Ward Community Primary School.

The application seeks an extension of planning approval for five years whilst "significant changes are made to the existing permanent school buildings, either by obtaining funds for a new build or altering the internal layout to make better use of space."

The Portakabin Duplex building is currently being used as classroom space for specialist teaching of specific subjects to small groups.

The building has overall dimensions of 11,960mm x 9,937mm with an overall height of 3,402mm.

The building is sited on a hard standing area and no landscaping is required as part of the application.

The application added: "The Portakabin building was chosen as a result of the flexible solution it provides.

"It was installed quickly enabling East Ward Community Primary School to begin using the specifically fitted out building much more quickly than a traditional build, and it can easily be removed from site with little impact on the school and the surrounding area when the accommodation is no longer required."