CONTROVERSIAL plans for a new school in North Dorset go before district councillors on Tuesday.

More than 120 people in Shillingstone have written to object to the use of a residential road for access to a new site proposed for the Shillingstone Church of England Primary School.

But the chairman of the school’s governors, Kerry Pitt Kerby, said Augustan Avenue could easily accommodate traffic bound for the planned £2.5 million facility. “The road has been designed and built for the purpose of granting access to a school, a community hall, and housing,” said Mr Pitt Kerby.

An alternative access road proposed by villagers from the Townsend thoroughfare would be unworkable, he said.

“It would jeopardise the entire project. We would have to build our own road at a cost of several hundred thousand pounds and realign the main highway,” said Mr Pitt Kerby.

“We are desperately short of suitable facilities. The school isn’t big enough and simply isn’t suitable.

“We have a series of temporary buildings and a main building that was put up in the 1800s,” he added.

Letters of objection to the proposed access road have been received by the district council from people living in Augustan Avenue, Schelin Way, Coombe Road, Spencer Gardens, and Stour Close.

Congestion, safety issues, and a lack of consultation are highlighted in the letters, with some residents saying they were unaware of plans for the school when they bought their homes.

But in a report to councillors, district planning officer Andrew Williams said that outline permission for the school had been granted alongside permission to build the houses in 2000, and described 120 of the 125 letters of objection as “circular”.

Councillors will vote on plans for a primary school, pre-school nursery, and 17 parking places, at a public meeting on Tuesday 22.