A PUBLIC inquiry into whether to allow a new "free school" to go ahead on a greenfield site outside Ingleby Barwick will begin this month.

Parents in Ingleby Barwick formed the Ingleby Manor Trust to push forward with a bid for a second secondary school in the town - and won Government backing.

But developer Satnam, which represents the landowner of the proposed school site at Little Maltby Farm, just off Low Lane, applied for planning permission for 350 homes on the site alongside the new school.

Stockton Borough Council refused the application, saying the land was green wedge land and it would blur the lines between Ingleby Barwick and Thornaby if there was major development on the site.

Satnam is now appealing and the planning inquiry is being held on May 14 to decide whether the council's decision should be overturned.

Councillors met last week to discuss the matter and to give permission to council officers to go ahead with formulating a defence to the appeal.

Issues they raised included traffic issues, especially now Tesco had pulled out of funding over £1m-worth of road improvements near its Ingleby Barwick store. Councillors also said they wanted Satnam to offer more affordable housing on the site - at least 20 per cent instead of the 15 per cent Satnam was proposing.

Councillor Steve Walmsley said that the school was supposed to be state-funded, adding: "Why can't we have the school without the houses?"

Conservative MP for Stockton South, James Wharton, said: "If you look at all the other free school programmes around the country, the Government is not paying for them outright - they are mostly moving into existing buildings.

"The real problem here is that Stockton Council never properly planned for Ingleby Barwick and doesn't own any land suitable for a school. For years they ignored the need for secondary school provision and now the only land available is with a commercial developer who is not just going to give away the land without being able to get some profit out of it."

Campaigners for the proposed Ingleby Manor School have officially targeted September 2014 as their target to open and have started the recruitment process to appoint a headteacher.