WORK on providing a £7.5m extension at Eastleigh's high-flying Barton Peveril sixth form college is to start in October if civic chiefs rubber stamp final details today.

Plans to demolish the existing gym at the Chestnut Avenue campus and replace it with two new two-storey buildings were given outline planning consent by borough planners last November.

The larger building will accommodate music, drama and sports facilities while the second building will provide additional classrooms for the college, which has more than 2,000 students.

It comes hard on the heels of a £4m extension at the college which has been in use for just over 18 months.

If councillors agree details of the scheme it is hoped that the new buildings will be completed by Christmas 2005.

Barton Peveril principal Godfrey Glyn told the Daily Echo: "This is a particularly exciting development for us.

"It will provide us with specialist accommodation that will reflect the quality of our provision in sport, dance, drama, music and English."

He added: "They will be 21st century facilities for a 21st century college."

Councillors will be told that the height of the theatre building would be 11 metres with the sports hall - the largest part of the new buildings - being about 9.5 metres high.

Parts of the dance studio and music block would be cantilevered over a courtyard and would incorporate copper clad roofs and walls. Access to the first floor of the theatre and dance studio would be via an external satircase on the eastern elevation of the building.

When the scheme was given outline approval by the Eastleigh Local Area Committee it was conditional on the college entering into a legal agreement to contribute cash towards introducing a residents' only parking scheme in neighbouring streets.

Councillors were told locals were worried that parking problems would become impossible.

That payment was made in May and now councillors are being recommended to give the extension scheme the final go-ahead.