A £600,000 bid has been submitted to fund work on assessing options for a possible new school site in an East Devon village.

The cash call comes as campaigners in Tipton St John have pushed for the village’s school to be rebuilt within the village rather than nearby Ottery St Mary.

The school, which has previously flooded, is built on a flood plain and needs to be relocated.

While a potential site had been identified in Ottery, efforts have been made to ensure the school stays within Tipton St John itself.

But that means that a formal assessment of potential sites needs to be conducted, prompting the need for the £600,000.

Devon County Council has submitted the bid to a pot of money overseen East Devon District Council that developers contribute to upon securing planning permission for their projects.

“Recognising the strength of feeling within the local community to keep the school in the village, we sought further advice this summer from the Department for Education (DfE) to understand what information they would require in order for them to consider possible alternative sites in the village,” a Devon County Council spokesperson said.

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“For the DfE to consider and commence feasibility studies into alternative sites within the village, they require preparatory work to be done in advance.

“That work, that would be carried out by Devon County Council, is estimated to cost around £600,000.

“Devon County Council doesn’t have [those funds available] and has therefore submitted a bid for £600,000 to East Devon District Council’s Community Infrastructure Fund, and is hoping to hear an outcome by early in the new year.”

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The spokesperson added that if the bid was unsuccessful, the county council would work with the school’s leadership and governors to consider the next steps.

Richard Foord MP (Liberal Democrat, Honiton and Sidmouth) has supported the campaign by residents to push for the school to remain in the village.

A petition was presented to Devon County Council in September with a thousand signatures on as part of efforts to keep the school in the village.

Judith Taylor, who represents the group, gave the document to Devon’s full council meeting to try and shore up the school’s uncertain future.

The DfE had agreed to fund a new building at Ottery St Mary, with Devon providing the land and paying for work, such as road access.

Former East Devon Conservative MP Simon Jupp (Conservative, East Devon), who lost his seat in July’s general election, had campaigned on the issue, and earlier this year welcomed the-then education secretary Gillian Keegan to the school to urge that work begin quickly.