A HUGE housing development to be built in exchange for a new Alcester High School has been ruled out by Warwickshire County Council, it has been revealed.

County Councillor Susan Juned said the Warwickshire Structure Plan (WASP) would not allow any more major development in the town until the plan came to an end in 2011.

A similar application to build 400 houses on the same site three years ago was thrown out after a public inquiry in 2000.

The structure plan was the reason for the decision in 2000 and because the plan has not changed, no more houses can be built now.

The county council has said it has to obey Government guidelines which say "unacceptable development should never be permitted because of unnecessary or unrelated benefits offered by the applicant".

Campaign group Action for New Resources at Alcester High School, along with MP for Alcester John Maples, joined forces with developers Pettifers to plan a state-of-the-art new school along Allimore Lane last month.

This would be in exchange for the Gerard Road school site, where 100 houses would be built along with 300 next to the new school site.

But campaigner Andrew Gretton said Pettifers would still be submitting plans for a new high school to Stratford Council in the next few weeks.

From there, council planners would decide whether it needed to be given to the secretary of state for another public inquiry.

At the last Alcester Town Council meeting, councillors agreed to two propositions regarding the high school

Firstly, they agreed with making the site an area of special restraint rather than green belt.

And secondly, they agreed the school remains where it is and the plans that have been put in place are carried out.