A planning steering group will meet over the next two months to decide whether Malmesbury needs a new primary school, or if the current ones should be extended.

Malmesbury Church of England School this term had to turn away children from the school’s catchment area, meaning some youngsters have to go to different schools to their siblings.

And with plans for another 200 houses in Malmesbury, to be built by 2016 as part of the Wiltshire Core Strategy, there are concerns about how the local infrastructure will cope.

The neighbourhood planning forum has been set up to produce a plan to help guide development in the area as part of the Gorvernment’s localism bill giving more say to local people over developments in their town.

A sub-committee of that group made up of teachers and school governors will look at the potential for a new school, or whether proposals to extend current facilities are more appropriate.

The funding is expected to come from a Section 106 agreement with the house-building developers.

Town and WIltshire councillor Simon Killane said: “We need another 200 houses, meaning there will be at least another 60 children.”

The school sub-committee is due to meet on April 30 and proposals are expected to be announced within the next two months.

Coun Killane said: “By then we should have a robust proposal for schools and a site selected. Malmesbury Catholic School are currently extending and adding one classroom but that’s not enough to give them long term solutions.

“The real issue is going to be how are we going to make sure we have enough spaces and whether we extend or build another school.

“We want to be able to say to developers, that plan (for housing) is fine but we want you to build a school or contribute financially to building it.”

Malmesbury Church of England School head Jeff Staton said the school would do all it can as part of the working party to help alleviate the problem in the area.

He said: “Our school has grown considerably over the last three or four years; we are full.

“We’ll do whatever we can to be a part of the solution.”