A PERMANENT new free school for primary-age pupils in upmarket Wynyard village, near Stockton, has been given approval by councillors.

As Stockton Borough Council’s planning committee voted unanimously in favour of the plans, they said they had no wish to repeat the mistakes of the past, such as in Ingleby Barwick, where development was allowed to continue with not enough education provision in place.

Pupils are currently being taught in temporary classrooms, and the new permanent Church of England school building, by Wynyard Woods, is now expected to be complete by September 2018.

The one and two-storey building will provide space for 420 pupils, which principal planning officer Greg Archer said would “future proof the area’s primary school provision”.

Councilllor Ken Dixon said: “I am fully supportive of this facility. It is nice to see developers looking forward and putting schools in whereas where I live in Ingleby Barwick all they wanted to do was put houses in and no schools.”

Cllr Hampton added: “In the past we have built houses with no school facilities, so I’m glad we’re getting it right this time.”

Head teacher Roger Ward said he had put a plan in place to manage traffic and parking problems, with an extended drop-off time of between 8.30 and 9am, and a breakfast club from 7.30 which was used by one in five pupils.

An after school tea club was used by 30 per cent of the school’s pupils, and three after-school activities a week meant pupils finished at different times.

He said: “About 70 per cent of our children live in Wynyard. Over time we expect that percentage to grow, and we expect a large proportion of children and parents to be walking to school.”

Planning committee chair Cllr Norma Stephenson: “Every member of Stockton Council has had an issue with school parking, and some of the suggestions you have got seem to make a lot of sense.”

In March the Diocese of Durham also submitted plans to build a secondary school in Wynyard to meet growing demand.