A HIGH Court judge will soon decide on a plea to put a halt to building a new primary school.

Campaigning resident Chris Law successfully obtained a judicial review hearing into a decision to build the school in Braiswick, Colchester.

Work has already started on the £5million school.

Essex county councillors voted through the plans in September and the 420-place academy is set to open this September.

After several hours, the judge has now adjourned the one-day hearing and her final decision will be sent to Mr Law and Essex County Council within the next seven days.

The school site is bordered by Fernlea and Apprentice Drive.

Residents from both areas voiced opposition to the plans with concerns including the increased traffic.

If the judicial review finds in Mr Law’s favour, the council would have to stop work and reinstate the land to the condition it was in before it started.

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

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

The primary school is needed as other schools in Colchester are over-subscribed.

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 the Government, which contributed £4.2million, and the county council, which gave £800,000.