A decision on approving planning permission for a school at the Sutton Hospital site was pushed back until next month after time ran out to debate the proposal.

During the planning committee meeting, held on Monday March 27, the council was recommended to grant planning permission for the school.

However, the decision whether to approve the proposal was postponed after the meeting was adjourned for ‘legal reasons’ as the committee had to stop at 10.30pm.

The committee is understood to have set a preliminary date to continue the discussion on Tuesday, April 18.

Liberal Democrat and Conservative councillors raised concerns about the design of the school with the building’s structure and traffic being criticised.

Plans submitted in December include creating a two to four storey sixth-form entry school ranging block for 1,275 students.

It would also incorporate 186 cycle parking bays, 80 staff car parking spaces and a multi-purpose hard surface to be used for sport purposes.

Conservative councillor Tim Crowley, the leader of the opposition at Sutton Council, said he was ‘disappointed, but not surprised’ that the decision date was pushed back.

He told the Sutton Guardian: “They had three hours and 15 minutes and they did not even get to hear from the applicants. It should have started much earlier.

Councillors need to be given the full and proper time to make sure that the right decision is made.”

The building is will cost £40m with the money being provided from the education funding agency and Government grants held by Sutton Council.

The school will specialise in the sciences and is expected to open in September 2018 and would have links to the planned London Cancer Hub.

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But the proposal to build the school in Belmont proved controversial with Conservative councillors arguing with the Liberal Democrat-controlled council that a new school needed to be built in central Sutton where there is a higher demand for places in anticipation of an expected shortfall in school places.

By 2023/24 it is expected there will be a shortfall of 563 places for Year 7 pupils, with many spaces going to children who live outside the borough.

Lib Dem councillor Mary Burstow was approached for comment about the proposal, but she declined to make a statement.