The building of a multi-million pound primary school in Telford’s new “urban village” will finally begin this month after a delay due to a slump in the housing market.

The development of Lightmoor Primary School was due to start in Lightmoor Village last September, with the first pupils walking through the doors in just three months’ time.

But developers behind the joint venture, English Partnerships and Bournville Village Trust, said the slump in the housing market had forced the builders to slow down the development of Lightmoor Village, between Coalbrookdale, Little Dawley and Horsehay.

Now the construction of the 210-pupil school, which will serve the 800 homes in Lightmoor Village, will start this month by contractors Clegg Construction.

The school, designed by Telford & Wrekin Council, will open at the beginning of the academic year in September next year and will have seven class bases, social play areas and a multi-use games area.

It will also boast facilities for the new community at Lightmoor, including meeting rooms, a hall with potential for multi-faith worship, indoor sports and recreation facilities and also changing rooms for external pitches.

Developers said the building of the school was the next major development in the creation of the village, which is based on Birmingham’s Bournville Village.

The village will also include shops, a family pub and a restaurant, along with 54 acres of nearby landscaped open space for public recreation and leisure.

Clive Jones, Telford & Wrekin Council’s head of building schools for the future, resources and social regeneration, said: “The start of work on the new school is the latest exciting step in the creation of what will become a special part of the borough.

“Lightmoor Village is set to become a wonderful place to work, learn and live and the school is important for the overall design and functionality at the heart of the village.”

Peter Murray, project director for the Homes and Communities Agency, said: “This is an important milestone in the development of Lightmoor Village.”

By Kirsty Smallman