New school project facing 'challenges' - council

The proposed site of Higher Bartle School

Council bosses have said they might have to expand some schools if they cannot build a new one in the next two years.

Plots of land at Maxy Lane in Higher Bartle, near Preston, is the site Lancashire County Council wants to build a new 600-pupil school on.

But it is also looking at the site of the former Tulketh High School in Ingol.

The authority said there were "challenges" with both sites and that making current schools bigger was a possibility if the project could not be completed by September 2027.

The council has previously suggested that unless it had the Higher Bartle land by the end of this month then it would use the Tulketh plot so the school could open in time.

Jayne Rear, the council's cabinet member for education, said "every effort is being made to progress" the plans.

The councillor added "alternative temporary solutions are being considered to mitigate against the risk of delay".

Jennifer Mein, the deputy leader of the Labour opposition group, said it was "deplorable" that the Conservative-run authority had not yet settled on a location for the school when plans for the expansion of area north of Preston dated back more than a decade.

Deputy council leader Alan Vincent said he was "optimistic" the school would open in time.