The King's School has announced a 70-acre site in the green belt where it hopes to build a new school.

The Express can today reveal the school has signed an agreement to buy farming land next to its Derby Playing Fields on Alderley Road, Prestbury, to build the £50million pound school. The site is between Fallibroome Farm and Big Wood.

The independent fee-paying school will close its sites on Cumberland Street and Fence Avenue and bring together all its 1,200 pupils on the one site. It’s hoped this will happen by September 2020.

Dr Simon Hyde, headteacher, said the plan ensures the school keeps it long association with Macclesfield, after 500 years in the town.

Mr Hyde said: “King’s has been at the heart of the Macclesfield community for over 500 years and we’re delighted to have found a site that will secure its future into the next century and beyond.

“The site meets our objectives of low environmental impact, accessibility and scope to build a world-class educational, cultural and sporting facility. It’s conveniently located for parents and will enable us to retain the Derby Fields as a top-class sports facility.

“The Governors and I have felt that the school was constrained by the duplication of costs and logistics of its twin sites as well as the ageing nature of some of our estate.

“We are working closely with the council and in tandem with the Local Plan.”

The land was originally part of the Hare Hill Estate owned by the late Colonel Charles Brocklehurst, who was chairman of governors from 1952 to 1968.

King’s has commissioned architects Pick Everard and expects to submit a planning application this summer, incorporating a sports centre, swimming pool and drama hall.

Arthur Dicken, chairman of Prestbury Parish Council and governor at King’s School, said: “On the one hand it’s a green belt site which people will be concerned about, but on the other hand it’s a massive and exciting expansion of the school.”

MP David Rutley said he’s pleased the school is retaining its links with Macclesfield, adding: “I look forward to seeing the detailed plans and to better understand how they fit in the context of the green belt.”

Peter Yates, who lives in Sutton and was chief planning officer at Macclesfield Borough Council, said: “People in Prestbury will go berserk about this development in the green belt and there will need to be major changes to the road network.”

The move involves the controversial plan to sell off the site at Fence Avenue for housing. It will also sell its historic Cumberland Street site to help pay for the new school.