AMBITIOUS building plans to redevelop Tamworth's secondary schools as part of a radical £100 million improvement programme have been submitted to the town's planning department.

Applications for proposed re-builds at Woodhouse High School and QEMS, as part of the Building Schools for Future (BSF) scheme, are set go before Tamworth Borough Council's planning committee within the next few months.

The applications, submitted by the education authority Staffordshire County Council, seeks permission to develop a new Landau Forte Academy on grounds at Woodhouse and demolish existing buildings.

They also want to put in a new access road from Woodland Road, provide new car parking spaces, a new pedestrian access and re-landscape the grounds for sports pitches.

The application submitted in relation to land at QEMS seeks permission to demolish existing buildings and develop a new post-16 academy building.

The county council also wants to develop new purpose-built educational and sports facilities for 16 to 19 year olds on the site.

The applications have been met with some resistance from local residents.

A total or 49 residents from Woodlands Road have signed a petition against the proposed new access road to the Academy.

A spokesperson for the residents said their main concern was with the amount of extra traffic it will bring to Woodlands Road.

"Our concern is with the amount of extra traffic, the danger to the children and the safety aspect.

"We would rather keep the Highfield Road entrance."

The plans have previously gone before the borough council's planning committee in a draft format.

While the committee had no objection to the proposals in principle, town planners highlighted traffic concerns, 'particularly when the academy campus [at QEMS] is taken into account'.