A PRIVATE school's plan to build homes in a "tranquil green area" has angered locals.

Birkenhead School wants to build homes on its playing fields and this has spooked many residents, who feel the plans will wreck a "green oasis" in the town.

The school plans to build the homes on Noctorum Field in Birkenhead.

A residents association has been set up to oppose the plans, rumoured to involve the creation of 35 houses.

One of the group's co-founders, Carmel Brown, spoke to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. She said: “The school has badly bungled their consultation with residents.

"[They have] informed neighbours of the school building nearly a mile away, but not [told] neighbours of this lovely area, who are understandably protective of this space and proud of it.

"[We are now] extremely vexed with the school's efforts to line its own coffers at the expense of the town's planning heritage and green future."

The school did not confirm how many houses it was looking to build, but this has not affected local opposition.

Ms Brown said her concerns were widely shared at a meeting attended by 63 people last night.

She added: "The mood was concerned, with residents wanting to express their horror at plans to sell off a 115 year-old designated sports field that had added prestige to the [one-time] sporting ethos of the school."

Locals also thought the plans might harm road safety and create drainage problems.

The area around Noctorum Fields is green and leafy, with nearby homes selling for large sums of money.

This brought up two problems for Ms Brown.

One was the greed factor, as the school can expect to make a lot of money from building homes on the field.

But the other problem was the impact this plan will have on the character of the local area.

Ms Brown said: "If they start packing houses down there, expensive houses, we will lose so much amenity.

"We have people pushing prams and carers pushing people in wheelchairs around here.

"There's a network of public footpaths, it's a really nice walk.

"That area towards Birkenhead Park is Hampstead Heath for Wirral, great views of the city but it's quiet."

Ms Brown said the area should be protected, especially when considering Wirral Council's plan to protect green spaces in urban areas, a cornerstone of its emerging Local Plan.

She added that given the council has plans for an urban garden city, it should start by insisting the green space the borough currently has remains.

Paul Vicars, Headmaster at Birkenhead School, said: "We are in the early stages of consulting with the community about our proposals to develop family homes on Noctorum Field.

"The site is currently under-used and holds little social, environmental, sporting or economic value.

"Our ambition is to use the capital generated from the sale of the land to invest further in sports facilities, which will also be able to be used and enjoyed by the local community.

"The capital generated will also enable the school to further roll out its bursary programme, opening up educational opportunities across the Wirral.

"We've so far sent newsletters to over a thousand local households and invited them to submit feedback.

"The closest neighbours to the site have also been invited to an individual meeting with the School and our project team.

"The views of the local community are incredibly important to us and we look forward to hearing further their feedback on our proposals."