A HOUSE-BUILDING hotspot is set to get a new multi-million pound primary school.

The block for up to 210 pupils will be an addition to Ribblesdale High School in Clitheroe and would be built on a nearby site in the Higher Standen Farm development of more than 1,000 new homes.

It is expected that more than 1,400 extra houses will be built on several sites around the town in the next few years.

But plans to include a special needs unit in the scheme have been dropped by Lancashire County Council education officials.

They have recommended to senior councillors that the overall project goes ahead.

Liberal Democrat Cllr Mary Robinson, who represents Clitheroe’s Primrose ward on Ribble Valley Council, said: “I am very, very pleased. All extra primary places are really welcome.

“This is long overdue but we also need to look at secondary provision with all the extra houses being built around the town.”

Currently Ribblesdale’s age range is 11 to 16, but next week Lancashire County Council’s Cabinet will be asked to extend it to cover four to 16-year-olds.

The expansion, which follows a public consultation, would take place from September 2023.

Among the submissions to the exercise were several suggesting a standalone primary school would be a better option and other worried about traffic, parking and road safety.

If the change goes ahead, the primary places would be provided in new accommodation at a neighbouring school site off Pendle Road at Higher Standen Farm.

The school would eventually have 210 primary places.

If the Cabinet agrees with its officers’ recommendation on Thursday, it will publish a Statutory Notice to pave the way for the expansion.

Cllr Jayne Rear, the county council’s education boss, said: “We will carefully consider all their views before making a final decision.”