A senior councillor has ruled out building a new school for Angmering to cope with a big population increase.

The decision follows public consultation in the village, where 600 houses are due to be built as part of a development to give the village a £5 million bypass.

Instead, West Sussex Cabinet member Sally Greenwell has decided to expand the existing St Margaret's School to cope with the predicted 150 extra children the development scheme will bring to the area.

Councillor Greenwell, who is in charge of education, said there was widespread support for expanding the school rather than building a new one.

Parents have told the council they would welcome the new facilities an improved St Margaret's would provide and it would help families who were considering buying homes in the development.

Coun Greenwell's decision is subject to being called in for further debate by members of the county council but is expected to take effect from tomorrow.

Her report said: "There is overwhelming support from parents in Angmering for the expansion of St Margaret's.

"Although there were one or two comments from parents about danger from traffic, these do not appear to be shared by the majority of parents who responded to the consultation."