Plans to halt the expansion of a primary school in Abbey Wood will be brought back to the table next week after councillors expressed concerns.

Last month, Greenwich Council’s cabinet agreed to consult on putting a stop to the expansion of Boxgrove Primary School, in Boxgrove Road, which was first agreed in 2013.

Council officers said the £4m expansion was no longer needed because the demand for primary school places was not as great as it was first expected.

The first phase of the school’s expansion was completed last year, but officers said the bigger phase two should be cancelled.

Instead, it was proposed a consultation be launched to open a specialist provision at the school for children with autism, in light of growing pressure for specialist spots.

Councillor Linda Bird, seconded by Cllr Peter Brooks, have now ‘called in’ the decisions, meaning the proposals will be reconsidered at a special meeting next week.

In their call-in, the councillors said there has been “inadequate consultation” over the council’s programme to deliver school places across the borough.

The councillors said the programme that set out the need for school places was made in 2016, and that should be reviewed to make sure it is in line with current requirements.

They suggested the proposed U-turn on the Boxgrove expansion be looked at again in light of a review of the council’s plans to increase school numbers.

According to officer reports, which will be debated next week, housing projects in the area surrounding Boxgrove have not come on as quickly as planned, meaning pupil growth has been slow.

The report explains: “If the Boxgrove Primary School expansion was to progress there would be even more over-provision in the area.

“This could adversely affect Boxgrove and other Royal Greenwich schools in the same and overlapping planning areas, as further provision in this part of the borough would not deliver the additional places where they are needed.

“Greenwich is experiencing a rising demand for SEND provision across the borough, particularly to meet the needs of those pupils with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnosis.”

Over the next five years it’s expected that about 100 additional school places will be needed to cope with rising numbers of pupils with autism. 

The officers said there would be a consultation over the plans to scrap the expansion in place of a specialist provision. 

Additionally, the councillors also called for a review of how the “healthy pupils capital fund” is allocated to schools.

The HPCF was introduced to help schools develop facilities for physical activity and wellbeing, and was planned to be distributed through bids, with 52 per cent of eligible schools expressing an interest in the funding.

The councillors will call for the plans to be revisited at a meeting on Wednesday, August 8.