PROPOSALS for a new £3million Kent primary school will be discussed at a public meeting next week.

Residents in Ashford will be able to have their say on the plans for the school at Repton Park, on the former Templer Barracks site, at the meeting being held at Highworth Grammar School for Girls on Wednesday, January 23, at 7pm.

Around 1,250 new homes are scheduled to be built at Repton Park, and Kent County Council says that because of this a new school is needed in the area.

The plans were first unveiled last year, just months after falling pupil numbers in the borough forced the closure of one primary school and the merger of four others.

KCC believes other schools will be unable to meet the growing demand for school places caused by the plans for Templer Barracks.

If agreed, the school could open its doors to pupils in September 2010.

The news comes after Hothfield School shut its doors for the last time last July and the mergers of Ashford South and Oak Tree schools and Hopewell School and Beaver Green Infant School.

County education chiefs accept there are other schools within a three-mile radius of Templer Barracks with spare places, but insist there will be no local school for families within a mile of the development.

Mark Dance, KCC cabinet member for education operations, resources and skills, said: “Ashford is designated as a major growth area, with 30,000 houses planned to be built before 2030. New families will be coming to the area and we need to have the infrastructure to meet their future needs.”

Those unable to attend the meeting can access the Public Consultation Document at www.kent.gov.uk and return the completed form to David Adams, Area Education Officer, Mid Kent Education Office, Kroner House, Eurogate Business Park, Ashford, Kent, TN24 or by email to school.consultation@kent.gov.uk.

The deadline for response forms is 5pm on Friday, February 15.