A PRIMARY school which has benefited from a £2m upgrade will not lose out following a decision to throw out plans to allow houses to be built on its former premises.

The proposals have been scuppered by Congleton borough councillors, who rejected a plan tabled by Cheshire County Council to build 15 houses on land formerly occupied by Middlewich Primary School.

The land was put up for sale after new facilities were built for the Park Road school. It was hoped proceeds from the land, which the county council wanted to sell with outline planning permission attached, would go toward the cost of the facilities.

But the scheme was rejected because provision for housing at the site wasn't included in Middlewich's local plan, the blueprint for development in the area.

Cheshire County councillor Dave Sutton accused the council of being 'lax' when the local plan was developed.

He said: 'Whether the county is going to appeal is another thing, but I anticipate it would be turned down again because, if Congleton Borough Council was to allow it, it would open Middlewich up to every other developer who wants to build in the town.

'Cheshire County Council should have put it in the local plan - but local residents will be pleased as they don't want it full stop.'

The county council had wanted to sell off the grounds to raise funds for the school buildings, which cost more than £2m. By securing outline planning permission for 15 houses, bosses believed it would boost the attractiveness of the site to developers.

But Middlewich residents and town councillors objected to the application. They feared building on the school's former playing area would cause problems, while Colin Robbins, from East Road, said traffic would be horrendous.

A spokesman for Cheshire County Council said: 'We are disappointed at the decision taken by Congleton Borough Council.

'It was anticipated that the money raised though the sale of the site would contribute toward the cost of the major £2m upgrade of Middlewich Primary School. We are now considering our options with regard to the funding.'

The school itself is not involved in the financial aspects of the building work and will not lose out as a result of this week's decision.

Headteacher John Kenyon said: 'It's totally separate and the school isn't financially involved.

'Cheshire County Council has until our old buildings are totally vacated by our pupils to come up with a decision over what to do with the land, and that will be in February.'