A campaign group has hit out over plans to build two new schools on protected land at the former Thames Water depot in Leyton.

The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) London has slammed proposals by the Lion Academy and Reach2 Academy trusts to open schools on the former depot site by September 2017.

CPRE says the land, which is designated “Metropolitan Open Land” (MOL), offering the same protections as Green Belt sites, should not be used for redevelopment.

The group also criticised a consultation held on plans earlier this month, claiming it only offered “one option” for the site.

In a statement, CPRE said: “The appalling short sightedness of building over protected sites is clear to CPRE London members.

“Most Londoners support land protections and understand their importance.

“It is irksome therefore that this consultation has been presented in a way which presents really only one option and does not give any of the down sides of losing a precious piece of MOL.”

If plans are approved, a secondary school, known as the Barclay Secondary Free School, could provide some 1,400 places for students by 2023.

The site will also be home to the Athena Academy, a new two-form entry primary school.

The trusts intend to submit a planning application to Waltham Forest council this autumn.

The former depot site, in Lea Bridge Road, was home to a waterworks between the mid-19th Century and the 1970s.

However, it has largely been used as a car park for the past four decades.

If successful, the schools will open in temporary facilities on the site in September 2017 with permanent modern school buildings to follow by 2018 and 2019.