Plans to build a 480-pupil sixth form on the site of a popular north Kingston leisure centre could be slashed, following a backlash from the facility’s users.

Kingston Council hopes to build a 1,200 pupil “superschool” at the North Kingston Centre, Richmond Road, to deal with a surge in secondary school pupil numbers expected by 2015, with post-16 places provided at the nearby Hawker Centre.

But following an extensive council consultation with parents, residents and centre users, council officers decided to add a Plan B to their recommendations, which are due to be decided upon by the council’s executive committee on tomorrow.

As well as the original proposal for a separate sixth form and sports facilities, officers have suggested an alternative use of the Hawker Centre be drawn up, limited to sports facilities shared between pupils and the community.

The move comes following the results of the council’s “informal” consultation into where the new school should go, which saw 38,000 response forms sent out to residents, parents and Hawker Centre users in July.

More than 60 per cent of centre users who responded were against plans to build on the Hawker site, although overall results showed 44 per cent of respondents were for the plan and 43 per cent against.

Duncan Clarke, the council’s interim head of learning and children’s services, said choosing a site quickly was “critical” to ensure the authority’s bid for £350m of Government funding was accepted.

The report stated any delay in identifying a site could jeapordise the borough’s entry into the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme, which it plans to use to rebuild or remodel every secondary school in the borough, in addition to constructing the north Kingston school.

Mr Clarke said: “Timing is of the essence - children needing a place in 2015 are already attending our schools.

“This is a critical time for us and we’re very keen and ambitious to get into BSF at this stage.”

The council needs to find places for an expected 460 extra pupils entering secondary school by 2018, and in December 2008 made a commitment to build a new school in time for the 2014-15 academic year.

Almost half of the 1,800 people who responded to the consultation said they were concerned about the impact an extra 1,200 pupils would have on the local area, while many others wanted the council to reconsider other sites.

A council response to the report said it recognised the chosen sites presented a “particular challenge”, given the proximity of the nearby Tiffin Girls’ and Fern Hill Primary schools, adding “careful consideration of design and management arrangements” would be needed.

Councillor Patricia Bamford, lead member for education at Kingston Council, said: “Development sites in the north of the borough are at a premium, and while a number of sites were considered none of them met all of the necessary criteria.

“I am delighted we can now move to the next stage of achieving our goal by starting a period of statutory consultation.”

If approved by the executive, the 10-month statutory consultation will begin in early 2010, while residents will also be consulted on any building works as part of the regular planning process.

• For more on schools visit our Education section