Harlow's Liberal Democrat leader and Bush Fair councillor Chris Millington has written to Essex education chief Cllr Stephen Castle calling on him to halt his plans to close Brays Grove School.

The call comes after the Examination in Public into the draft East of England Plan, instead of recommending new housing north of Harlow as expected, proposed significant amounts of extra housing to the east and south of the town.

Cllr Millington told county councillor Castle:

"Given the unexpected outcome of the Examination in Public, and the Panel's proposals for additional housing in the east and south of the town, it would seem premature to close the only secondary school in the south east of Harlow.

I am therefore writing to request that you halt the statutory process the County Council has embarked on to close Brays Grove School, so that an informed discussion can take place between Essex County Council and its local partners about the impact of the Panel's housing recommendations on the pattern of secondary education provision in Harlow.

This is not to endorse the Panel's recommendations about extra housing in Harlow - which are very worrying for local people - but simply to reflect the current state of the East of England Plan and the prematurity of any decision on the future of Brays Grove."

Cllr Millington has also copied his letter to the members of the School Organisation Committee, which is due to meet to decide the fate of Brays Grove School on Wednesday 12 July.