PLANS for the creation of three new superschools have been given the green light by county councillors.

The ongoing educational revolution for Burnley and Pendle, under Lancashire’s £250million Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme, has taken another giant leap forward following a meeting of the county’s development control committee.

Three separate planning applications for the new Hameldon Community College, Blessed Trinity RC College and The Rose special school, all Burnley, were each put under the microscope at County Hall in Preston yesterday.

Currenty Hameldon is located between the former Ivy Bank High and Byron Street sites and is expected to be in its new home in Coalclough Lane by September 2010.

Meanwhile Blessed Trinity, currently split between the old St Hilda’s school and accommodation in Kiddrow Lane, will be returning “home” to Ormerod Road, around the same time.

The college was formed following the merger of the former St Hilda’s girls school and St Theodore’s boys school back in September 2006.

The newcomer will be The Rose School, a 40-place centre for children with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties, to be sited in Swindon Street on the Coalclough Primary School site.

County councillor Valli Patel, schools cabinet member, said: “This is a significant milestone for the BSF project and great news for education in Burnley.

“It means that we can proceed with the final part of the ambitious project to transform education in Burnley and Pendle, providing 21st century education facilities for our young people and excellent facilities for the local community.”

The first wave of the BSF programme saw Shuttleworth College open in Padiham, Burnley Campus established to cater for sixth formers and Pendle Vale College and Pendle Community High sharing a site in Nelson.

Work is ongoing, as part of the second phase, on Unity College and Sir John Thursby Community College and Ridgewood Community High, offering 90 places for students with special educational needs, all in Burnley, and Marsden Heights Community College at Brierfield.