A DARLINGTON primary school could be replaced by a new one on the edge of town in less than two years, the council revealed yesterday.

The revelation followed a stormy meeting on Tuesday night when protestors urged councillors to drop the plans and rebuild Alderman Leach School on its existing site.

More than 100 residents and parents attended St Mary's Church Hall in Cockerton to oppose plans to relocate the school on the West Park development at Faverdale.

During the meeting, called by the Cockerton Area Action Group, council education officer Kevin Duffy and ward councillor Bryan Thistlethwaite faced a barrage of questions and complaints from the floor.

To loud cheers, Coun Thistlethwaite responded to the question of where he thought a new school should be built by saying: "Hand on heart, if at all possible, I would love to see it stay where it is."

When pressed after the meeting as to whether he would vote against relocation if the majority of residents in his ward were opposed to it, Coun Thistlethwaite, who is also chairman of the school's governors, would only say: "I will make that decision when I've got all the facts."

Protestors have safety fears over children who would have to walk across parkland on the former Darchem chemical works site and the fact that West Auckland Road, which leads to the West Park development, has a 40mph speed limit and is heavily congested in the morning.

Several referred to contaminated land containing asbestos and high levels of methane on the site and questioned the safety of building a school there.

Mr Duffy said: "We would have to be totally sure that the site was safe before we built a school on it.

"We will have to go back to the planning and development department with your concerns, but the view of the department is that the site is perfectly safe."

He also said a travel plan would be drawn up before the new school received planning permission. Parents and residents would be consulted in deciding the best routes.

The proposed £2.9m school would provide 315 places, with a nursery school for 52 children on a 4-acre site.

Alderman Leach currently has 387 pupils on its declining roll and is under capacity by 107.

Officers say demolishing the school and rebuilding it on the existing site would cost an extra £500,000, which the council could not afford.

The council already has £1.3m of Government money to fund a new school and would match that from its own budget.

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