STOCKTON Borough Council is seeking planning permission for a 600-place secondary school at Ingleby Barwick.

The council is working with the Church of England's York Diocese and consultants PricewaterhouseCoopers to prepare a financial case for the school.

The business plan is vital to the success of a proposed funding bid under the Private Finance Initiative (PFI), and will be presented to councillors next month.

The decision to press forward with an application for outline planning consent for the secondary school, at Blair Avenue, will strengthen the business case still further.

At the same time, planning applications will also be made for two primary schools. One of these would be next to the secondary school and also rely on PFI funding, while the other would be Church of England- funded.

The council has lodged bids to allow a community library to be incorporated into the design, along with a full-size sports hall.

Councillor Alex Cunnigham, Stockton Borough Council's cabinet member for education, leisure and culture, said: "We are about to embark on a new round of public consultation, including a number of public meetings during the next few months.

"After that, the financial case will go before the council during September, so our bid can be submitted to the Treasury."