A specialist school's bid to improve facilities and increase its pupil numbers has been blocked.

Joseph Clarke School, in Vincent Road, Highams Park, is a centre of excellence for the visually impaired in the south east and attracts pupils with special needs from across twelve London boroughs, parts of Essex and Hertfordshire. 

The school is run by the Whitefield Academy Trust and has the capacity to take on 110 pupils, but currently has around 87 pupils enrolled. 

The Academy's plans to relocate the nursery area and build a two-storey extension and a new reception area with ramp access were rejected at a planning meeting on January 6.

It is accessible through Vincent Road and Silverdale Road, both of which are known for becoming heavily congested during peak times of the day. 

A council spokesman, said: "The application was refused as members of the planning committee were concerned about the possible impact on one of the residential homes next to the site, and traffic issues associated with children arriving and leaving the site. 

"Officers have worked closely with the applicants and local residents and it is anticipated that a revised scheme will be submitted in the next few weeks."

Two cabin-style classrooms would have been demolished to make way for the new two-storey classroom, which would have sat adjacent to the Victorian properties along Silverdale Road and Vincent Road. 

The school operates eight mini buses, two of which block the carriageway, but the school hopes to extend the loading bay area in order to accommodate additional mini buses. 

Joseph Clarke was threatened with closure a decade ago by Waltham Forest council, and benefited from a £10,000 donation by the Guardian in 2011.