ANGRY residents say the £14.3m redevelopment of a Darlington school has not taken into account concerns raised about traffic and light pollution.

This week, the first turf was cut at Hummersknott School and Language College by the town's mayor, Marian Swift.

However, a meeting called by Conservative councillors Heather Scott, Alan Coultas and Charles Johnson heard that a number of residents still had worries, which they felt had not been fully addressed.

The main issue was parking and traffic outside the school.

At present, buses and cars park in Edinburgh Drive when they drop off and pick up pupils.

Residents said this caused a number of problems. Some said the redevelopment should include parking and drop-off points in the school grounds.

Councillor Johnson said he believed parking in the grounds was not included because the school had to cut £1m from its budget. Resident Clive Rickaby said: "The children's safety is paramount.

"If a child gets killed on the road out there, we'll all look a bit foolish.

"The main thing is to get everything off the road so that people can come to the facilities.

"With the new building, you're going to have more and more people coming here."

Councillor Scott said she would speak to headteacher Pat Howarth about the dropping-off and picking-up arrangements.

She said: "It is something that can be dealt with outside of the general planning situation."

There were also concerns about the traffic calming.

Other issues raised included the floodlit pitches. Residents wanted to know how often they would be used and there were concerns about light and sound pollution from the pitches.

There were also worries about increased anti-social behaviour.

Coun Johnson said: "There's been a definite improvement in the behaviour of most of the children over the past 18 months.

"There's still a group and an element of bad behaviour, but there's definitely been an improvement."

The councillors agreed to pass the residents' concerns to John Buxton, Darlington Borough Council's director of development and environment.

It was felt another meeting should be arranged where residents could speak to the developers and get more information about the exact details of the plans.

A borough council spokesman said: "There has been wide consultation with the local community regarding what is a very exciting project.

"There have been public meetings where people have had the chance to air their views, including one in which residents objected to the idea of a turning circle for buses, and there was also consultation as part of the planning process.

"Buses are dropping pupils off for five minutes in the morning and collecting them for up to 20 minutes in the afternoon.

"The football pitch will be lit by eight lamps, using a design endorsed by the British Astronomical Association that ensures very low light fall-out outside the pitch area.

"Residents have raised concerns, so we will endeavour to work with the school to minimise any impact."