RESIDENTS are celebrating after councillors rejected £50m plans to relocate one of the country's top independent schools on their doorstep.

But the headteacher of Yarm School, David Dunn, said he was bitterly disappointed.

Yarm School, founded in 1978, had applied to move to a 120-acre site at Town End Farm, off the A67, near Kirklevington Grange prison, on the outskirts of Yarm.

But the scheme sparked fears among residents in nearby Kirklevington, who said they would suffer increased traffic congestion and the building would impact on the environment.

At Stockton Borough Council's planning committee meeting yesterday, councillors voted unanimously against the proposal on the grounds that it contravened the regional spatial strategy and Stockton's local plan.

Residents cheered when the application was rejected.

Resident Gill Allan said: "We are absolutely delighted. We are not against the school expanding, they have just chosen the wrong site"

Speaking on behalf of Castle Levington and Kirklevington parish councils, who opposed the plans, Councillor Tony Hampton said: "We have to protect the greenbelt land. We are very pleased with what has happened."

Mr Dunn said: "I think it is a huge opportunity which has just been missed.

"We are going to go away and talk to people before we decide what to do next. We don't know what we plan to do at the moment."

Councillor Ross Patterson said: "Local people know their area generally better than anyone else. I think we should only support schemes if there is huge public support."

Planning committee chairman Roy Rix said: "There is no doubt about the significant contribution the school makes, or that this scheme would have offered benefits.

"However, it would also be a major departure from the approved development plan."

This year, the school entered The Times top 50 independent mixed schools list in the UK for the first time.