Ottery Town Council met on Monday to discuss the application which would extend the current hall by 109 square metres.

Plans to extend Ottery’s King’s School have been supported by the town council.

Members of the planning committee met on Monday to discuss the application, which proposes to extend both sides of the dining hall to include a new caretaker’s facility and storage.

The school has received funding for the work from housing development in Ottery.

Laurence Evans, school business manager, said space was at a ‘premium’ and the work would provide significant additional capacity for the students and events held in the hall.

He told the Herald: “We now provide education to over 1,100 students on a relatively small site and the success of our canteen has meant that space for students to eat at breaktime and lunchtime is at a premium.

“This additional funding is allowing us to enhance the dining experience for our students by providing a space that will accommodate a greater number of students.”

The school also propose to reconstruct the existing canopy and improve the main entrance and landscape.

If approved, Mr Evans said work would start in the autumn, with the facility ready early next year.

Planning committee chairman, Cllr Ian Holmes, said: “It’s nice to see that they have some money to spend on it. They are utilising what is actually a completely dead area that is not being utilised for anything else, just basically putting the bins out, and doing something useful.”

The fate of the application will be decided by East Devon District Council.