PUPILS at Elms Bank High School are to finally get their own sports hall.

Three years of talks have paid off as councillors this week found the cash for the £200,000 project.

The Whitefield special school, which caters for youngsters with a range of learning disabilities, is the only one in the borough without a dedicated sports hall or gymnasium.

Although small, the hall would be just 15 metres by 20 metres, it is big enough for netball, badminton and five-a-side football.

It will be built next to the car park at the school's Ripon Drive entrance and linked by a corridor to the main school.

Governors at Elms Bank had asked the council for financial help back in 1997, but the local authority did not have the money.

However, councillors have put together a funding package to meet the cost. They have targeted around £122,500 in Government grants to the school, plus £50,000 from the sale of land at nearby Heathfield Road.

The school is confident that it can raise the remaining £25,000 from other sources.

Councillor Trevor Holt, chairman of lifelong learning, said the sports hall was vital for the school and would also be of enormous benefit to the local community who could also use it.

Officers have been asked to seek planning consent for the project as soon as possible.