A BOURNEMOUTH free school is being reminded it needs to renew its planning permission to stay in its current home for another year.

Parkfield School was forced to postpone its planned move to a new site at Bournemouth Airport after a colony of bats was discovered in buildings at the former air traffic control centre.

It announced back in June that it would be staying at Dorset House at the Lansdowne for an extra year, while the problems with the Hurn site are resolved.

But its two year temporary planning consent expires in September and it has yet to submit a new application.

A spokesperson for Bournemouth confirmed: "The two year temporary consent which was given to Parkfield School to change Dorset House from office to school use will expire in September 2015.

"We have recently received a letter from the Education Funding Agency stating that the school will remain at Dorset House until 31 July 2016.

"The school will therefore need to apply to renew the permission. We have not received an application at present or had any contact from the school itself.

"We would not take any enforcement action initially. The first step will be to write to them to request the submission of a planning application for the extended use."

Parkfield Free School currently has around 400 pupils and has been operating from the former office block at the Lansdowne for two full years. However, the lack of outside space and limitations of the building meant it needed to look for a new permanent home and it paid £3million for the College of Air Traffic Control at Bournemouth Airport.