A HORWICH primary school will be rebuilt to create places for a new 1700-house development in the area.

Bolton Council has signed off plans to create a bigger version of Chorley New Road Primary School, before demolishing the existing site.

It will mean the school will increase from one form entry to two, to meet the potential demand for places that will arrive with the Rivington Chase development, currently being built on the former Horwich Loco Works site.

The new building will be based on the school’s current playing fields — but the authority said the fields will be relocated.

Critics have hit out at the decision not to use the specific education funds provided by Rivington Chase developers Horwich Vision to build a school in the centre of the new site.

But council leader Cliff Morris said this was the first stage of a long-term strategy that will run alongside the 10 to 15 year development programme and could see other schools near to the site expanded in the future.

He said: “This is a long-term project and the plan was never to build a school in the middle of the development because there is no land available.

“The new school will mean that Chorley New Road can become a two-form entry school, which will provide us with much more additional space for children.

He added: “This is of course the very early stages of the Rivington Chase project and hardly anything has been done, but further down the line we will look at other schools on the edge of the development to see what could be done there.

“We think this is the best way to manage this going forward.”

Conservative councillor Bob Allen sits on Horwich Town Council as well as on Bolton Council’s Planning Committee.

He has always argued that a school in the centre of Rivington Chase is needed.

He said: “I have previously used the example of the Ladybridge Estate, where there are 1,200 houses and three primary schools.

“I understand the need to replace or refurbish the Chorley New Road school, but it is up to a mile away from the western side of the new development, where I believe the house building will begin.”

He added: “The developer would rather give money to the council for an off-site school so they can build more houses.”

The council stressed that planning for the new school is at a very early stage.