West Berkshire Council will now work on providing school places outside of Theale

West Berkshire Council (WBC) was proposing to introduce an £8.5m school in Theale to help with the increasing demand for places in the village.

An ongoing battle between the authority and Theale Parish Council has seen the village divide over the potential problems of building the school on North Street Playing Fields.

Despite the majority of residents voting in favour of the school during a poll, the parish is under no legal duty to hand over the lease to WBC.

The fallout of the delay means the district council will be forced to create new places outside the village.

Councillor Lynne Doherty, executive member for education, said: “Words cannot express my frustration and disappointment that after so much hard work we have been unable to build a new school for the children of Theale.

"We have really tried to progress this with a parish council, which through indecision, obfuscation and delay has for two years put off making any decision on the lease.

"With construction costs increasing by £100,000, the existing primary school overpopulated and under pressure and with a need to get on and create new school places, we do not have the luxury of any more time.

"We have tried our best and now it is time to move on and start creating elsewhere the new places we so desperately need.”

Many Theale residents believed the land was not suitable for a new school due to safety concerns and the loss of recreational space.

District councillors offered to provide financial support by paying for legal fees in order to get the project moving.

The project would have seen a new 420-place school built in time for 2020.

A spokesman for the parish council added: "We have worked hard throughout to try to negotiate with WBC to resolve the issue.

"The parish council would not choose to enter into a blame game and would rather use its limited resources to resolve the important issue of education provision for Theale residents."