Retrospective plans for above-ground heating pipework at Wickersley School and Sports College have been reccommended for approval by Rotherham Council’s Planning Board.

The application relates to pipework bridges carrying heating between blocks at the school on Bawtry Road. The system was installed after underground pipes corroded and began to fail, risking damage to boilers, according to a report by planning officers.

Concerns were raised about the appearance of the 4m-high pipe bridges, which are visible from nearby homes on Wood View Court. One resident said the structures were “an ugly feature covered in plastic trellis,” while another argued it would not have been allowed if it were “a garage or gazebo this close to the boundary.” There were also complaints that the pipework overshadowed gardens and could have been located elsewhere on the site.

The school has wrapped the pipework in green trellis to soften its appearance. Planning officers accepted the design was “functional within a school setting” and said the visual impact was not overdominant given the size of surrounding buildings.

Officers state: “it is considered that the pipe work ties into the setting of a school and does not look out of place when viewed as a whole with the school from neighbouring properties.

The board was told that re-siting the pipework was not feasible without significant cost and disruption to lessons. Heating three blocks and serving more than 2,000 pupils, the system had to be installed quickly to avoid leaving parts of the school without heating.

The application will be brought before the board for transparency after councillors raised concerns about how it looked.