Three major plans which would allow a new King’s School to be built have been recommended for refusal.

Bosses from the fee-paying school say they are ‘disappointed’ at the news that planning officers at Cheshire East have recommended the planning applications should be refused by councillors on the Strategic Planning Committee.

The school has submitted applications to merge its sites at Fence Avenue and Cumberland Street into a new school on 70 acres of green belt next to its Derby Playing Fields in Prestbury. As well as an application for the new school, its submitted plans for 300 homes at Fence Avenue and 150 homes at Cumberland Street, on the Westminster Road playing fields which form part of the campus.

But all three applications have been given the thumbs-down by planning officers on documents released today ahead of the Strategic Planning Committee meeting next Wednesday, May 18.

Dr Simon Hyde, headteacher, said the school will take on board the recommendations but a new school at Derby Fields is still the right move.

He said: “We were disappointed to learn that council officers intended to recommend refusal of the applications for a new school and housing at Westminster Road and Fence Avenue.

“The School has been working on these plans since 2012, holding pre-planning consultations in July 2015 before submitting a planning application in September.

“We believe we have a strong case. We will study carefully the officers’ recommendations but remain convinced a new school at Derby Fields will secure our position as a beacon of educational excellence for our region, extend our ability to provide community benefit and provide much needed housing and jobs for Macclesfield.”

Officers recommended the 150 homes at Westminster Road are refused due to a lack of affordable housing, the failure to provide for the extra strain on local schools and lack of bat survey to assess the impact on the species.

At Fence Avenue, officers said the new homes would be inappropriate development in the green belt and cited a lack of affordable housing and the extra strain the homes would put on local schools.

The new school was recommended for refusal due to the impact on the green belt, traffic and lack of bat survey.