LANCASHIRE County Council cannot afford to build a new primary school in Huncoat before there are children to start filling it.

But it has asked the borough council to reserve a site for a school within a planned development of up to 600 new houses.

No decision has been made to build an extra school or, if given the go-ahead in the future, when a school would be built, a residents' meeting was told last night.

At today's prices, a new 210-place primary school would cost around £1.25 million to build. The meeting between residents and council officers is part of a public consultation exercise on the draft development brief for 600 new houses to be built in the village.

Residents have protested that Huncoat is getting a raw deal, with more than its fair share of new homes in the borough.

But that is a battle campaigners have fought and lost following a public inquiry.

One of the major concerns to emerge at the meeting was that surrounding streets simply cannot cope with hundreds more cars. The draft brief for the site proposes two vehicle accesses via Winterley Drive and Station Road/Enfield Road.

Following the residents' feedback, planners are to investigate the possibility of a third access on Bolton Avenue.

The council will also be commissioning a traffic impact assessment and the findings will be shared with residents.

Following the public consultation a revised development brief will be presented to the development services committee for approval, probably in about eight weeks time.

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