A £500,000 bid to create a new all-weather floodlit pitch at a York secondary school has taken a step forward.

City of York Council’s planning committee will decide next week whether to approve a proposal to turn playing fields at Canon Lee School, in Clifton, into a new facility for pupils, sports groups and the community to use.

Planning officers have recommended approval, which would allow football, hockey, netball and tennis to be played throughout the year, removing the current restrictions on sporting activities which weather conditions force the school to work within.

Canon Lee handed over land used as part of its playing field to allow the new Clifton With Rawcliffe Primary School to be built on Eastholme Drive.

Head teacher Kevin Deadman has said the new sports facilities would help it move towards its aim of earning an “outstanding” ranking from Ofsted.

“It would result in the loss of an existing grassed playing pitch, although a second pitch would remain and would be improved,” said a report by Hannah Blackburn, the council’s development management officer.

“As such, the scheme offers a significant benefit to the provision of the curriculum at the school, as well as providing a sporting facility for the wider community outside of school use.”

It also said increased use of the site would lead to more noise, but this would be eased by an earlier closing time at weekends – 4pm on Saturdays and 2pm on Sundays – adding: “A finish time of 9pm during the week would prevent disturbance to sleep.”

If approved, the pitch would be set up at the eastern end of the school site, near Water Lane, with eight floodlights and two sets of benches for spectators being installed together with a four-metre mesh fence and kickboards to cut down on sound.

The report highlighted “particular concern” about the floodlights, saying they would be clearly visible from nearby houses.

However, it added measures had been taken by the applicants to cut down on glare and light pollution and the timings of the facility’s operation meant they would be switched off before most residents went to bed.