A new Hindu school to be built on playing fields has been given the go-ahead.

The Education Funding Agency has approved a bid by the Avanti House Trust to build a secondary school on Whitchurch Playing Fields.

The government agency has been carrying out a feasibility study of the site in Stanmore after the trust identified it at the end of last year.

Avanti House School moved to a temporary home in Stanmore last year.

Under the proposals the new school site would have a total of 1,260 pupils after it reached its full capacity.

Harrow Borough Council leader Councillor Susan Hall said: “There is a pressing need for more school places in Harrow so it is a major step forward for the Whitchurch site to be formally recognised as suitable for development.

“We have worked closely with the Avanti Schools Trust, who already have a strong and indeed unique track record in Harrow serving our significant Hindu community.

“Harrow is a majority Asian borough and I believe the arrival of a Hindu school will mean increased choice for parents.

"Ultimately, the council’s priority is to ensure every child growing up in Harrow has the chance to attend a good school, and the market should reflect the borough’s diversity.

”We will work with the developers to ensure that a new school here would be a facility for all the community to use.

"I will also be talking to sports clubs in the area to ensure that we find them the right solution to allow their members to keep training locally.”

Proposals for the fields have been controversial. In 2012 Harrow Council's then Labour administration gave its backing to the Whitchurch Consortium's plans to build a new sports complex on the site.