THE plan for a new £2.5million building for Malmesbury Primary School has been approved by Wiltshire County Council.

The 14-classroom school, which is to be built on the school's present location at Tetbury Hill, was given planning permission by county councillors last week.

Permission was also given for up to 33 houses to be built at the front of the site.

Building, however, will only start once a linked project to build up to 150 houses at Filands has been given the go-ahead.

The county council does not have the cash to fund the new school without the estimated £7 million it would get for selling off land at Filands and at Tetbury Hill. Some of the money raised from both housing schemes would also be used to pay off the county council's £4.5 million contribution to Malmesbury School's new building at Corn Gastons.

County council leader Jane Scott said: "This is another rung of the ladder but there is some way to go.

"We want to create a state of the art primary school for Malmesbury to match the town's secondary school."

Malmesbury Primary School headteacher Jeff Staton has made it clear he and the school's board of governors were in favour of a new, bigger building at the cost of housing.

The school has to use mobile classrooms because it has outgrown its present building.

THE plan for a new £2.5million building for Malmesbury Primary School has been approved by Wiltshire County Council.

The 14-classroom school, which is to be built on the school's present location at Tetbury Hill, was given planning permission by county councillors last week.

Permission was also given for up to 33 houses to be built at the front of the site.

Building, however, will only start once a linked project to build up to 150 houses at Filands has been given the go-ahead.

The county council does not have the cash to fund the new school without the estimated £7 million it would get for selling off land at Filands and at Tetbury Hill. Some of the money raised from both housing schemes would also be used to pay off the county council's £4.5 million contribution to Malmesbury School's new building at Corn Gastons.

County council leader Jane Scott said: "This is another rung of the ladder but there is some way to go.

"We want to create a state of the art primary school for Malmesbury to match the town's secondary school."

Malmesbury Primary School headteacher Jeff Staton has made it clear he and the school's board of governors were in favour of a new, bigger building at the cost of housing.

The school has to use mobile classrooms because it has outgrown its present building.