OXFORD’S first free school will open in September, it was announced last night.

Those behind Tyndale Community School said it will open at Cowley’s Lord Nuffield Club despite being refused planning permission earlier this year.

The move has been made possible after the Government relaxed planning rules to boost the number of free schools.

But with just three months to get a derelict building ready, uncertainty still surrounds the project.

City councillors threw out the scheme in March saying the club buildings in Barracks Lane were too small and the proposal would generate too much traffic.

However the Government has relaxed rules to allow development of free schools in almost any building for one year without permission.

The school’s set up costs will be paid by the Government and running costs by the charity behind it.

Neither would say how much they were contributing last night.

The school claims that given a year it will be able to either satisfy the council on the location or or find a more suitable home.

It could hold up to 60 children a year but the school refused to confirm how pupils had been given places, or how many parents had applied.

It hopes to reach 420 pupils by 2020, becoming a two-form entry primary school for ages four to 11.

The school last night said it already had enough pupils to make it commercially viable but refused to say how many.

It is to be run by Oxfordshire Community Churches and school sponsor London-based Chapel Street Community Schools Trust.

According to the Charity Commission the Trust has funds of more than £4m.

The governing body of Tyndale includes the leader of Oxford Community Church Dr Steve Jones; Keith Elmitt, former headteacher of senior school at the Kings School; Eileen Elmitt, a special needs advisor; Helen Glasspole, a senior lecturer at Oxford Brookes University; Ellie Stacy, head of the junior school at Oxford High School in Summertown; and Russell Rook, chief executive of Chapel Street.

Mr Rook said the Department for Education (DfE) had supported their aim to provide extra school places.

Oxford City Council spokeswoman Louisa Dean said: “The applicant had previously applied for planning permission which has been refused. This is currently going through the appeal process.

“However, the government has extended permitted development and one aspect is to grant change of use of buildings into new free state school. To secure such permitted development, the developer has to send us a prior approval notice, which in certain limited instances we can refuse.

“The case officer has recently written to the planning inspectorate to clarify the issues that can still potentially be matters requiring examination.”

Headteacher Liz Russo said she could guarantee the school would still exist in a year.

She said: “We are not trying to fit everything in and get a whole school up and running in three and a half months.”

Two teachers have been hired.