NORTON councillors have welcomed proposals to expand the town’s primary school saying it is reaching “crisis point”.

Plans have been unveiled to expand Norton primary to a £4.5m second site following an unprecedented demand for places.

Pupil numbers have increased by more than 100 in the past four years to about 500 full-time children, leading to increasing pressure on the existing site in Grove Street.

North Yorkshire County Council is proposing to build an additional school at Brooklyn, in Langton Road, which is currently used by its youth service and a number of community groups.

The new school would provide 210 places for nursery, reception and Year 1 pupils from September 2017.

Councillor David Lloyd-Williams said: “When you look back to the 1990s the number of pupils fell as the surrounding village schools became more attractive to parents, but this has reversed and the school is full to bursting.”

Concerns were raised over congestion in Langton Road, particularly with buses travelling to Norton College, and the future of organisations currently using Brooklyn.

Councillor Jonathan Gray said: “The school is almost at crisis point in capacity and this looks to be a fairly sensible approach looking at what other resources the county council has in the area.

“The indication is that the site will be designed with some continued use by community groups, which addresses that issue.”

County Councillor Elizabeth Shields, who represents Norton, said clearly the school could not accommodate the increasing numbers of children needing places. “It is a pity we couldn’t have used a site closer to the existing school to expand, but if Brooklyn is the only option we will have to see how parents react,” she said.

Liz Parker, headteacher at Norton primary, said the proposal to extend the school onto the Brooklyn site for early years and Year 1 would free up the space on the current site for Years 2 to 6.

“The school won’t be overcrowded and rooms will be more suitable for the number we have,” she said. “My priority would always be to provide the best education in Norton, while maintaining the exceptional pastoral care we offer for families.”

A consultation about the proposals has been launched, with a public meeting at Norton Primary School on Tuesday, February 10, at 6.30pm.