MALMESBURY C of E Primary School is to have a new £2.5 million building on its current site at Tetbury Hill in plans revealed yesterday.

The 14-classroom single-storey school will be built on land behind the present building and provide enough room to fit the school's 380 pupils, say planners.

The school currently uses nine mobile classrooms because the present building was built to accommodate only 200 children.

A number of plans have been mooted over the last few years to address the school's shortage of space. But Wiltshire County Councillor for Malmesbury John Thomson said he felt that finally the town would have a school to be proud of.

He said: "It is fantastic, I can't wait. We have a lot of good factual evidence from the comprehensive school that a new building raises standards. With this new school we are giving the children of Malmesbury the facilities they deserve and investing in their future."

The plans were the result of a lengthy consultation in Malmesbury held earlier this year, which proposed a new school on Filands.

That plan met with stiff opposition from parents who feared for children's safety because of the extra distance they would have to travel compared with the current site.

It was as a result of that consultation process that the idea of a new school at its present site was suggested

With a trail of failed plans behind him, such as a new school at Reeds Farm and extending the present building, the school's headteacher, Jeff Staton, said he was cautiously optimistic about the present proposals.

He said: "It has always been the governors' and my aim to give the children the best possible facilities.

"We are cautiously optimistic. We do see a bright new future and that opportunity has got much, much closer."

Outline planning applications for the new building were submitted to North Wiltshire District Council yesterday.

Parents also welcomed the proposals. Mother-of-two Sarah Bennett, 31, of White Lion Park, said: "I think it is a great idea to build on the existing site. All the talk of housing at the top of the hill caused a lot of concern for parents."

But controversy remains over how the £2.5m cash needed for the new building is being raised.

The new school cannot be constructed without cash from the sale of six acres of county council land at Filands and an acre of land in front of the school. The land is expected to raise £7m, £4.5m of which would be used as the PFI's contribution for the new comprehensive school a bill which is payable in 2005.

But parents have voiced concerns over the extra traffic that could result from housing being built in front of the school. The town council is also worried about the 75 to 150 homes that could be built on the land.

Coun Thomson said he welcome ideas for other developments on the land and promised further consultation on the issue. He also said a traffic flow system was being designed to tackle parents' fears.