Plans to merge two Abergavenny schools and develop a new three to 19 school have been submitted to Monmouthshire County Council.
If approved, the new school will accommodate pupils from King Henry VIII School and Deri View School and will have capacity for almost 2,000 pupils.
The work involved would be completed by the start of the September 2024 term, when further demolition would then take place.
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The site is located north of Abergavenny town centre, between Old Hereford Road to the east and Pen Y Pound Road to the west, and is currently home to King Henry VIII School.
The application says: "The new school will accommodate flying-start, nursery, lower school, upper school and sixth form educational provision with a capacity for 1,900 pupils, and will be open for community uses outside school hours.
"The existing school will remain operational throughout the construction period of the new school, which is intended to be completed and ready for the September 2024 term.
"The existing school will then be demolished to allow for new external sports facilities for the school and community to be built. The existing Abergavenny Leisure Centre will be retained in its current location, and is not part of the proposed works."
The new school would comprise of two separate buildings: a three-storey lower school for pupils up to year four and a three-storey upper school for pupils from year five to 13. Both schools would use a single common entrance.
Additional leisure facilities are detailed in the proposal, including a multi-use games area, forest school areas, grass, and all-weather pitches. A new cycle and pedestrian route would be created along the southern boundary of the site.
An ecology appraisal said: "The scheme has been designed to protect most of the higher quality habitats within the site (woodland, mature scattered trees, scrub and flowing water).
"Where tree loss is unavoidable, this will be compensated for through extensive new planting. A sensitive lighting scheme will retain dark corridors for bats and avoid illumination of proposed new roosting features."
The removal of 56 semi-mature trees will be "mitigated" by planting 293 native trees on-site. Plans also include 465 metres of native hedgerows and seeding wildflower grass in areas of low footfall.
One neighbour raised concerns that the proposed development would cause an increase in traffic. He said: "The plans for the school will lead to a marked increase in traffic at school time bringing the centre of Abergavenny to a standstill in an around Tesco during school pick up and drop off times.
"Without details on how these issues are going to be addressed, this plan is unsupportable."
Full details on the proposals can be found here. Neighbours can comment on the application until March 7, 2022.
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