Banwell’s long-awaited bypass and a new secondary school site at Parklands Village are set to move a step closer next week.

North Somerset Council will vote on Tuesday whether to accept £97million in funding from Homes England, the Government’s housing agency, which will be used for the bypass, improvements to the local roads and paths in and around Banwell, and 900 secondary school places.

The infrastructure will provide for the continuing development of Weston Villages, including Haywood Village and Parklands Village, as well as for any future potential sites identified through the new local plan process, helping to meet the need for homes in North Somerset over the next 15 years.

Cllr James Tonkin, the council’s executive member for transport, said: “Given the current global situation it is fantastic we have been able to continue to progress work on bringing this critical infrastructure to North Somerset.

“The council vote on whether to accept the funding is a significant part of the process which brings us ever closer to the new road and school.

“We have already been working with communities in and around the Weston Villages and Banwell to develop these proposals. We will continue to consult as plans are developed.”

Detailed plans for the road are being drawn up using a route already included in the current local plan.

The secondary school site is on land at the southern end of the Parklands Village North South Link Road, within the Locking Parklands area.

Both projects will involve public consultation, which is planned for next year once early designs have been completed, and will be subject to planning permission.

The Government’s Housing Infrastructure Fund, administered by Homes England, is helping to deliver up to 300,000 new homes across England by providing local authorities with grant funding for new infrastructure.

The bypass and extra school places are expected to support around 7,500 new homes, more than half of which are due to be built as part of Weston Villages. The remainder will be decided by the new local plan process.

The infrastructure should be in place by 2024.

More information about the new Local Plan is available at www.n-somerset.gov.uk/newlocalplan and the current plan can be seen at www.n-somerset.gov.uk/localplan.