A new school in Wallingford is earmarked for the wrong place and should be moved, it was claimed last night.

Town councillors are calling for developers to switch the proposed location of a new primary school.

Slade End Farm, off Wantage Road, has been chosen as the main site for new homes, as part of South Oxfordshire District Council’s core strategy, which outlines where about 10,000 new homes should be built across the district by 2027.

In July, residents living near the development site were told the latest proposal was to increase the number of new homes at the site from 400 to 555.

Now Lynda Atkins, independent county councillor for Wallingford, has called for developers to reconsider the site.

She said: “The plan is to put a new primary school on the development site and pupils from St Nicholas School will then move there.

“Developers want to put the school on the south-west corner of the site, next to Hithercroft sports park, but it is not just children who live at homes on the development who will be pupils at the school.

“If you position the school on the north-east corner of the site, it will be nearer the town centre and in a better position for a larger number of pupils.

“The school will need to be built before the houses, so the issue needs to be addressed now.

“The town council is objecting to the developer’s proposals regarding the positioning of the primary school and has raised the matter with the county council.

“I believe the current site is poorly placed to integrate with the town and to meet the needs of pupils from outside the site.”

Ms Atkins has also called for footpaths between the site and the town centre to be improved before the first homes are built.

A county council report recommends Ms Atkins’ views, and the views of the town council, are passed to South Oxfordshire District Council, which is expected to consider a full planning application next year.

In April, developer Prupim, part of Prudential, submitted an outline planning application for 400 homes at Slade End Farm.

Prupim spokesman Nick Webb said: “We have met members of Wallingford Town Council, South Oxfordshire District Council and Oxfordshire County Council and concerns have been expressed over the school’s location.

“The design team decided upon the location for the school following a thorough analysis of issues relating to education, traffic, urban design and also the relationship with neighbouring uses.

“The school’s location towards the south-west corner of the site was deemed the most appropriate.

“However, we take the concerns of local people seriously and as any amendments are required to the plan, in line with SODC’s core strategy, we will keep on open mind on the issue.”

Larger villages around Wallingford are also facing more homes than expected as part of revised core strategy proposals.