Safeguarding fears have been raised over plans to expand a school overlooked by homes.

Pupils and residents will have to wait longer to hear whether a plan to expand St Nicholas CofE Voluntary Controlled Infant School in Strood will go ahead after councillors said they were not happy with the design.

The school in London Road currently has 93 pupils and under the plans, could become a one-form entry primary school, meaning it could take on another 117.

Plans to facilitate this include building a new single-storey teaching block, a "multi-use games area", and new playground.

During a meeting earlier this month, it was explained to councillors the school had been earmarked for expansion by the Department of Education and currently, pupils leave after Year 3.

Planning manager Kemi Erifevieme said: "In most cases, most of the children are not able to find comparable faith schools to go to."

Councillors decided to arrange a site visit to allow them to see the impact the building could have on neighbouring homes in Madhuran Court, some of which currently look onto the playground.

'I think it's outrageous to then suddenly be saying to residents, 'we now think you're a danger to these children and we're going to put something in the way so that you can't see them''

If plans go ahead, these homes would neighbour the new teaching block.

Following the visit last weekend, the plans were debated during a planning committee meeting yesterday (Wednesday, October 19).

During the meeting, councillors said they couldn't decide whether or not to approve the plans, because while they thought the extension of the school was needed, they didn't like the designs.

Head of planning at Medway Council, Dave Harris, said councillors raised safeguarding concerns when the plans for the homes in Madhuran Court were approved in 2003.

He said, in hindsight, those councillors "were right" to have raised those concerns, although this was "not a personal comment about any of the occupants."

Cllr Stuart Tranter (Con) said he had "serious misgivings" about the application, before proposing a motion to defer the committee's decision to allow architects to rejig the design, which was backed by councillors.

The Rochester West representative said: "Whilst we might take all these things into account when building a new school, I think it's outrageous to then suddenly be saying to residents, 'we now think you're a danger to these children and we're going to put something in the way so that you can't see them'.

"That's a terrible thing to say to people. I mean how can we possibly even think such a thing?

"Please let us not start the precedent of suddenly saying anyone that lives near a school is somehow a danger to those children just because that's how it is."

Ward representative Cllr Zoë Van Dyke (Lab) , told councillors how residents in Madhuran Court were worried about how the new block would overshadow them and stop them from enjoying their properties.