OBJECTIONS have been raised against a private school plan to build a bridge over the River Tees.

Yarm School wants to the erect the wooden bridge between Yarm and Egglescliffe so that both schoolchildren and members of the public can access protected Tees Heritage Park (THP) land.

But Shane Sellers, chairman of Egglescliffe Area Residents Association, has expressed concern that the bridge could eventually lead to a revival of Yarm School’s abandoned plan to turn the Heritage Park into playing fields.

In 2013, Yarm School applied to Stockton Borough Council to create 11 new sports pitches and a pavilion on the north side of the river as well as a new bridge. However it was unanimously rejected by the planning committee after hearing concerns that it would lead to the destruction of unspoilt land and hurt wildlife.

That plan was connected to another scheme for houses to be built on Yarm School’s current playing fields which also came to nothing.

Mr Sellers has organised a public meeting to discuss the new bridge to be held at Egglescliffe Parish Hall on Tuesday at 7pm and he hopes representatives from Yarm School’s planning agents Nathaniel Lichfield, will attend.

He said: “Obviously the current application is just for the bridge and it seems commendable on the face of it. But what comes next? Why just a bridge? We’ve got a lot of questions and we’re hoping for answers.”

However a spokesman for Yarm School sought to allay fears. He said: “We want to enrich our pupils learning experience by giving them the opportunity to make frequent educational use of Tees Heritage Park. We also want to provide a facility to be used by the whole community. Tees Heritage Park will become more accessible not just to our students and teachers but to residents of and visitors to the town.”

The bridge itself would be by Atlas Wynd to the north and by Yarm School to the south. It would span 36m and be secured by steel pile foundations. There would also be a single 12m by 1.2m floating pontoon to help river users. The application on Stockton council’s website said: “At present, access to THP from Yarm School can only be achieved by crossing the River at Yarm Bridge resulting in a detour of one mile, taking about 20 minutes by foot.”