Sheffield councillors have approved a plan to build a £25 million secondary school in the south-west of the city despite objections from local residents. Members of the planning committee voted in favour of the council’s own planning application for land off Carterknowle Road granting permission for the proposed Mercia School. The proposal received more than 80 objections from residents concerned by an increase in traffic and worries that the old landfill site is unsafe for development. The new school will be run by Mercia Learning Trust, a multi-academy trust that was founded by Sheffield’s King Ecgbert School. Simon Thake reports for Sheffield Live!