PLANS for a £3m village school hung in the balance last night after it emerged that council officials could not overcome a major stumbling block.

The Church of England has drawn up proposals for the school in Middleton St George, near Darlington.

The previous school building was severely damaged in an arson attack in February last year.

The new school would be known as St George's Church of England-Aided Primary School.

It would accommodate 315 pupils, including some from the village of Sadberge.

But the proposals ran into trouble when sports officials raised objections about the loss of playing fields in the project.

Sport England, the organisation responsible for delivering the Government's sporting objectives, said it was unhappy with the blueprint for the scheme.

Because of Sport England's concerns, Darlington Borough Council's planning committee was unable to grant approval when it met last month.

It was decided to hold further talks with Sport England to seek a compromise.

Planning permission can only be granted if the complaint is dropped.

But the council confirmed yesterday that the setback could not be overcome, so Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott might call for a public inquiry.

A council spokeswoman said: "We met Sport England to discuss the issues surrounding Middleton St George and, although there was some measure of agreement, there remained disagreements on either side.

"We have now sent the full application to Government Office North-East, with all the details surrounding the matters with Sport England.

"It will be up to their planning officials to investigate, and they will determine whether the application is called in by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister."

If it is called in by Mr Prescott, a public inquiry will be held. If he feels that is not necessary, the proposals will be sent back to the council to make a decision on whether to grant planning consent.

A decision is expected in the next three weeks.