A CONTROVERSIAL free school has been denied permission to stay at a ‘dangerous’ location until 2021.

Councillors this week rejected the Olive School’s latest request to stay at Ashton House for another three years, saying that site was ‘nowhere near being a suitable learning environment’.

The Tauheedul Education Trust, which runs the school in an industrial location where St Peter's Way meets Blackburn Road, says it is considering an ‘urgent’ appeal.

At a planning committee meeting on Thursday, Cllr Hanif Darvesh accused the school of ‘not trying hard enough’ to find a permanent base.

He added that the likelihood of accidents happening around the school will increase every year as more pupils join, while Cllr Debbie Newall raised concerns about the ‘toxic’ air quality in the busy area.

A representative for the school told the committee that it has operated effectively for 18 months without any safety concerns.

She also warned that, if was approval is not granted for the school to remain in Waterloo Street until a permanent base can be secured, then the council will have to find somewhere else to provide places for its pupils.

The school had wanted to move to the old Falcon View Centre site in Halliwell, before the council withdrew it from sale last year. Negotiations are now ongoing over another site.

A spokesman for Tauheedul Education Trust said: “The trust is extremely disappointed with the decision taken by the planning committee to refuse the planning application seeking continued temporary education use at Ashton House.

“The safety of our pupils is paramount and the school has been operating for well over a year now delivering excellent outcomes for pupils without incident. In the immediate aftermath of this decision, the intention is to consider an urgent appeal against the refused decision.”

Cllr Bob Allen said that there is little prospect of the school shutting down.

He said: “Whatever our decision is, this school will almost certainly not close. They will go to an appeal and win. But we have to take a stand.”

UKIP’s Cllr Sean Hornby added: “We have to send a clear message — we owe it to the pupils that attend this school.”

Three councillors — Ann Cunliffe, Elaine Sherrington, and John Walsh — voted in favour of the school’s application.

Cllr Cunliffe said: “This is not a location that we want our Bolton children to go to. It is nowhere near being a suitable learning environment.”

She added that the need to provide much-needed school places put the council ‘between a rock and a hard place’.