A JUDICIAL review has been launched by residents in a bid to stop a primary school from being built on their doorsteps.

Work started last month on the £5million New Braiswick Academy on land off Apprentice Drive and Fernlea, Colchester.

Essex county councillors voted through the plans in September and the 420-place school is set to open in September next year.

The school will be accessed via Apprentice Drive, on the New Braiswick Park estate, and traffic will leave via Fernlea, a cul-desac off Bergholt Road.

Originally planners said the access both to and from the school, would be via Apprentice Drive.

But they later decided residents in that road should share the impact of traffic with Fernlea and amended the plans.

Campaigning residents who live in Fernlea have launched a judicial review into the decision.

Chris Law, honorary secretary of Braiswick Residents’ Association and a member of Fernlea Residents’ Action Group said: “Objections from Fernlea residents were predominantly about the access route, using Fernlea as the exit.

“There are other concerns about the school, but the reality is, if they had reverted to the original scheme, there weren’t significant objections – only a minority. Residents would probably have accepted the school.

“However, the council chose to use this one-way system.”

The application to seek judicial review was filed at the High Court last month and Essex County Council submitted its summary defence last week.

A judge is expected to make a decision on whether the judicial review can proceed in about a fortnight.

If the reviewcan proceed and is successful, Essex County Council could be ordered by the court to stop building the school.

If the judge decides the review can’t proceed, the residents can still submit an oral application before the judge.

The access road on the school site will only be open during the school run and will be controlled by barriers to prevent other traffic using it as a through-route.

The council said the primary was needed because Colchester’s schools were oversubscribed.

The Learning Pathways Trust will sponsor the academy, which is expected to create 52 jobs.

Funding for the two-storey building, which will have 14 classrooms, came from both the Government, which contributed £4.2million, and the county council, which gave £800,000.

A spokesman for the county council said “We confirm the council has been served with an application which seeks permission for judicial review into the planning permission given to build a school on land north of Apprentice Drive.

“Following legal advice, the council intends to defend the application. The council’s formal response to the application has been filed and we now await the court’s decision.”