More than £860,000 sourced from housing developers will help to build a new primary school in Somerset's county town following a decision by district councillors.

Taylor Wimpey and Vistry Group are currently constructing the Orchard Grove development, which will eventually deliver up to 2,000 homes between the A38 Wellington Road and Honiton Road at Taunton's western edge.

In addition to the new homes, the development will include a 420-place primary school and 60-place nursery, which is due to open in September 2023.

To enable construction to start in April, Somerset West and Taunton Council has agreed to provide £867,000 from other developments to purchase the land on which the school will sit.

When housing developments are approved, local authorities can claim financial contributions from developers towards new schools, roads, play areas and other amenities.

This can be achieved through two main mechanisms – the Section 106 agreement and the community infrastructure levy (CIL).

While Section 106 funding can usually only be spent on the site in question, CIL contributions can be pooled and spent elsewhere – for instance, CIL generated from a development on one side of Taunton can pay for a new school on the opposite side of the town.

Frances Gully, Somerset County Council's senior planning officer, said: "The legal agreements agreed by all parties for the Orchard Grove development determined that the cost of land purchase would be covered by CIL.

"This request covers only the purchase of the land in order to achieve a transfer to the county council. A future CIL request will be made for construction of the school.

"It is anticipated the cost of constructing the school will be c.£7.5m."

As the local education authority, the county council is responsible for building new schools – though the finished institution will be leased to a multi-academy trust, rather than run under direct council control.

The cost of delivering the school will be initially funded through county council borrowing, which will be repaid through developer contributions secured through CIL.

Ms Gully added: "This project will provide the essential school infrastructure to support the level of housing approved, by providing sufficient pre-school and primary places to a high standard to be open in time with staff, accepting pupils as the houses are occupied.

"This will in turn prevent over-capacity at neighbouring schools, and retain the high standard of education across Taunton."

The county council and developers intend to begin construction on the new school in April, allowing it to accept pupils from September 2023.

The entire Orchard Grove site is expected to be built out by 2028.