PLANS are being drawn up for a new school building at Malmesbury CofE School's current site at Tetbury Hill.

The school has outgrown its present building and the new scheme, revealed at a public consultation meeting last Wednesday, follows on from a previous plan to build a new £2.5 million, single- storey school at Filands.

Parents objected to the Filands proposal because of its distance from town and concerns about possible problems with road safety and traffic congestion.

Wiltshire County Council's plan involves extending the present school with a 14-classroom building similar to the Filands plan on land behind it.

County councillor John Thomson said: " People said that they were not happy and we have learned from it. This idea came from the consultation, and that has been reflected in these plans."

However, the proposal to extend the current school was opposed by headteacher, Jeff Staton, who said a new school would offer a better way to help teach a 21st century curriculum.

The Tetbury Hill scheme would be funded by the expected £6 million raised from the sale of six acres of brownfield land on the Filands site. This would be used to build between 110 and 140 houses, of which up to 45 per cent would be affordable homes.

The rest of the 11.5-acre Filands site would be used for public open space and a new play park.

A further £1 million would come from the sale of a one-acre plot of land in front of the school, to be used for 16 to 25 houses.

After paying for the school, the remaining cash would be used to pay the council's £4.5 million contribution to Malmesbury School's building at Corn Gastons. Any spare money would go to the education budget.

The meeting to present the proposals was attended by more than 50 local people as well as representatives from the county council.

The cost of the development in terms of additional housing was a concern raised by some at the meeting.

Town councillor, Jo Price, said she was worried the homes planned for the front of the proposed school on Tetbury Hill would increase traffic and consequently pose a risk to children's safety.

Parent, James Rivett, 40, agreed. He said: "I was not sure about the housing planned for the front of the school. I think it will bring extra traffic and I don't consider that to be safe."

District councillor Lesley Bennett, disputed the council's use of 'brownfield' to describe the undeveloped fields to the east of the site, saying they were greenfield and therefore permission to build on them had to be obtained via the Local Plan process.

She said: "This is a big development for Malmesbury and the planning process is there to make sure new building is properly considered."

Coun Thomson said that would take too long and could result in piecemeal development.

He said: "We could have to wait until 2008 before Malmesbury got a new primary school if we wait for the local plan. I think we should grab this opportunity now. District members have the power to give these plans permission if they want."

Filands lies outside the Wiltshire Structure Plan and Coun Thomson admitted that any development at Filands would have to be referred to Secretary of State, John Prescott.

Public consultation will be held in the next eight weeks after detailed plans have been drawn up.