Proposals for a ‘state-of-the-art’ new building for children at Newton Poppleford Primary School have received ‘positive’ feedback from the community.

Some 150 parents and residents looked at the plans to knock down the existing 140-year-old premises, which was described as ‘dilapidated’ and ‘not fit for use’.

The Education Funding Agency (EFA) is set to pay for a replacement of the school’s existing seven classrooms, hall and kitchen. The new setup will incorporate the village’s pre-school.

Parent Daniel Shaw said: “It has been a struggle to operate a school to a reasonable standard with the facilities they have now. It’s just nice that things are moving on now.”

Resident Richard Swann raised his concerns about ongoing traffic issues around the school.

Mr Swann, a former parish council chairman, felt the plans had ‘no traffic provisions for a new school’.

He added: “We have already had one serious accident - it will happen again for sure.”

On the traffic issue, headteacher Stuart Vaughan said: “Traffic, in a sense is a separate issue. We have a meeting next week with various different bodies such as the police and parish council.

“As a school, we are looking at various answers.”

If successful in its application, the school will remain fully operational during the building work, which it is estimated will take a year to complete.

During the build, a ‘safe, dedicated route to the main building will be created’ for pupils.

Mr Vaughan said: “It’s good to see so many people come to find out about it. We are very excited - it is clear that what we have now is not fit for purpose.

“To have the early years here will make that initial transition from pre-school to school much smoother, as they will be part of the school.

“I felt it was a positive consultation meeting and gave those who attended the opportunity to ask the questions that they needed to.”

The deadline for comments about the proposal is Monday, September 26. Feedback can be sent to the school office.