A secondary school built on greenbelt land is “the only option” to meet growing demand for school places in Cobham, the chairman of governors at Cobham Free School has said.

Plans for Cobham Free School’s secondary school, which will transform Chippings Farm off Elveden Road, were put on show at a public exhibition at the Gospel Hall in Anyard Road on Thursday, November 29.

Under the plans, a secondary school will be created alongside up to 500 homes built by Cala Homes, with 50 per cent being marketed as affordable.

The development would be built on a 22.5ha site within the greenbelt and would be “visually contained and would not lead to unrestricted sprawl or coalescence”.

Developers said the site, chosen after a 12-month search, was in a “sustainable location” and the development met the requirements to build on greenbelt land.

Howard Morris, chairman of governors at Cobham Free School, said: “I think most people recognise this land one day would have been developed for housing and all we are really seeking to do is bring that forward.

“The justification for the school is we couldn’t find any other location to build a secondary school on for Cobham. We along with the Department for Education have looked at a number of options in the area and we keep on coming back to this site.

“I think some people have been quite surprised because some people didn’t even know the land existed because it so well screened by trees and the A3 on the other side.”

Mr Morris said the school was already going through the admissions process for the three form entry for 2014, a total of 72 places for year 7.

Asked what will happen if the site does not get planning permission, Mr Morris said: “There is no room for failure.”

While the site is constructed, pupils will be taught at the existing site in Portsmouth Road with current pupils and, from 2015, year 3 through to year 13 will occupy the Chippings Farm site.

Mr Morris said places would be allocated on a “postcode lottery” on the basis of oversubscription.

Alex Coward, 42, of Portsmouth Road, a father of two children aged six and eight who currently attend St Andrew’s School, said: “Without a secondary school in the area, it is [the new school] a consideration for us. My main concern is the traffic and the focus seems to be not on the lower end of Portsmouth Road where the houses are.

“I think it will come out in the wash because what we have heard here is not what I was told originally. We need clarification on what the intake actually is. The other consideration would be, in other schools we know the teachers are qualified and as I understand it, they don’t necessarily need to have that at the free school.

“One of the criteria [when choosing a school] is sending your children to somewhere where there is quality teaching.”

Mr Coward also said a lot of parents had put their children into the younger part of the free school so they automatically got a place at the senior school.

The application will be made to the council in early 2014, with the view of going before a planning committee in April or May so that the school building can be used from September 2015.

The school and the housing development are being brought forward as one application and one cannot go ahead without the other.