A CUMBRIAN school headteacher has spoken out over his concerns surrounding a proposed new housing estate.

Brampton Primary School headteacher Richard Clark addressed a meeting of the town’s parish council, outlining his concerns that the mooted Carlisle Road Story Homes estate will add pressure on the school.

“I do welcome the housing development,” Mr Clark clarified, “however the concern I have is that I might struggle to cope with the financial consequences the estate will bring for the school.”

Permission to construct the estate was granted in 2017. However earlier this month, Story Homes submitted revised plans for approval to Carlisle City Council.

The council is still to make a decision on the amended proposal, which would see the total number of houses built rise to 108.

Linked to the proposed development is an agreement with Story Homes to provide a financial contribution to help accommodate the impact of the new estate on local infrastructure.

Mr Clark explained his concerns to Brampton parish council on Tuesday evening.

“I’m now having to refuse children who are coming into the area. We’ve got 34 children in lots of the classes in the school, and I can’t accommodate any more.”

He added that the spare space in the school is used for important functions, such as tailored learning for children with special needs.

Cumbria County Councillor for the Brampton area Lawrence Fisher agreed with Mr Clark that the space in the school used in its current form is important.

“That extra space is important, and should continue to be used in its current form,” he said.

For Mr Clark, the greatest concern is staffing costs. “Raising the pupil numbers slightly means I might have to increase my staffing numbers to accommodate that increase,” he said.

“I’ve got seven members of staff fewer than the school did just a few years ago. When I took over in 2017 the budget had a planned deficit of £200,000. Now we’ve pulled that back because of the measures we’ve put in place.”

Brampton parish council chairman David Moorat said that the body “welcomes the development, but we are particularly concerned as a council, of the impact this development will have on the school’s staffing”.

A Cumbria County Council spokesman said that the “council’s Planning Obligations Policy details how the council works alongside planning teams at each district council as well as developers to ensure they make the necessary contributions to provide additional school places when needed.

“The council will continue to work alongside all schools to maximise resources and to identify opportunities for additional funding.”