Migration of families from London Boroughs has been cited as a reason for children living in a school catchment area not being given a place.

A total of 32 children living in the catchment area for Staples Road Primary School in Loughton have been refused admission due to insufficient places.

Chris Pond, Essex county councillor for Loughton Central told the Guardian he knows of seven children who have been redirected to Waltham Abbey for primary education.

He said: “I’ve had a lot of very aggravated parents ringing me up about the issue.

“It seems it could be caused by the inward migration of people from Waltham Forest and Redbridge.”

Expansion plans are already in place for Staples Road which would see around 15 extra pupils accommodated but not the 32 turned away this year.

Cllr Pond added: “The volume of complaints I’ve had on this shows me that primary school provision in Loughton is grossly inadequate.

“The problem might require a new school to be built.”

The Loughton representative also said he thought funding to tackle the problem could be made available by central government.

Children in care are prioritised as are those with siblings at a school.

Places given to others living within the catchment area of a school are decided by the straight-line distance they live from the school.

Cllr Pond said most of those offered places lived closer than a straight-line distance of 0.6 miles from the school.