BUILDING work for the redevelopment of a Leigh school is expected to start in the next few months.

Belfairs High School, in Highlands Boulevard, is due to be demolished and rebuilt with a new £30million school, ready by 2010.

It will be built on the existing site, incorporating a new reception area and a £900,000 sports hall.

Southend Council is being given the cash as part of the Government scheme, Building Schools for the Future.

It is the only school to benefit from this in the area.

Plans for the scheme, which includes a 150-seat theatre and seven teaching rooms for Southend Adult Community College, were displayed last September for the first time.

A document between Southend Council and proposed developer Skanska is now being finalised. Once complete, the council will apply for planning permission.

Alastair Robertson, group manager for school funding capital and access at Southend Council, said it will be some time before the document is complete. He added: “It will be a few months before we see a start on site.”