A VILLAGE which has seen a number of new housing developments is set to get a new primary school.

Parents and residents of Bowburn are being asked to have their say on proposals for a new £8.2m primary school.

The number of potential pupils in the village is rising which is putting pressure on school places.

Durham County Council has launched a public consultation on plans which would see Bowburn Infant and Nursery and Bowburn Junior Schools merge to become a single school on a new site, built on the current junior school playing field.

The new school would have capacity for 540 children aged four to eleven and a 52-place nursery unit.

The two existing schools currently have a total of 318 pupils, but numbers are expected to rise year-on-year due in part to recent housebuilding.

Pupil numbers are projected to reach 410 by 2029/30 and could go as high as 475.

A council spokesman said: “The junior school building cannot easily be expanded to cope with this rise in numbers and is also in a poor state of repair.

“The new facility would cater for the growth in number of children at Bowburn to 2029/30 and beyond”.

The council says it is trying, where appropriate, to bring junior and infant schools together so children do not have to change sites at the age of seven.

Consultation on the proposed amalgamation takes place until the deadline of November 12.

Comments can be sent to the School Places and Admissions Team at County Hall or emailed to schoolorganisation@durham.gov.uk