Opposition to a new school in Stanmore has been building among its future neighbours who argue the extra traffic will bring the community to “breaking point”.

In February Harrow Council’s planning committee voted unanimously in favour of granting Avanti permission to build a new Hindu faith secondary school on the Whitchurch Playing Fields site in Wemborough Road.  

The council ruled the “compelling” planning grounds for the facility were sufficient to overrule the site’s original purpose as a green space.

At the time the application had drawn 652 letters of support and 125 objections.

However voices of discontent have been growing in the community with the realisation that a much-used and much-loved field will be built on to make way for the school.

“They are going to build an ugly building in the middle of beautiful green fields,” says Brigitta Mollenbeck as she walks her dog Jackie through the verdant terrain.

“There is a lot of frustration in the area – people are concerned about the pollution. Everybody I have spoken to is against it.

“We don’t want to lose more green space – what about all of the nearby brown field sites they could build on?

“It’s a beautiful area but for how much longer? More and more is being taken away from the locals.”

When residents raised concerns about extra cars filling the already busy surrounding roads, the Education Funding Authority sent officials to count the number of cars.

But residents argue they turned up at the wrong times – claiming they came once at 11am on a weekday and another time on a Saturday morning.

“Where is the sense in that?” asks former headteacher Frank Willies.

“The move will increase traffic when we are already at breaking point – and once the site has been sold to the school there is no preventing it from expanding.

“Public green space is going to be absorbed by the building and its sports fields.”

He claimed the extra traffic would further damage the air quality in the area, and pointed to the fact the field sits on a floodplain as another potential environmental issue.  

“It’s going to be a big, big problem. They want to build it on a flood plain so there is a big risk involved,” he said.

“It should be built nearer to where the children live. They are talking about putting up to 30 buses on the street and a lot of 17 and 18-year-old pupils might also be using their own cars.

“This will dramatically increase air pollution, which kills thousands of people every year in London.

“There are already three fairly large schools in the area – Stanburn, Whitchurch and Park High.

“They are blocking us in with all these schools.”

He described the atmosphere at a recent public consultation meeting as “intimidating”, and said he was booed when he tried to register his reservations in the forum.  

Mrs Mollenbeck said the exclusive nature of the new school further divided a society which has seemingly become more fractured since the EU referendum.

“Having these schools means society is never going to gel – it feels very divided.

“It would be nice if common sense prevailed.”