Two councils are at odds over a major school expansion designed to cope with an anticipated “dramatic” rise in demand for places.

In a surprise step, Epping Forest District Council has officially objected to Essex County Council’s application for a new two storey detached building at Roding Valley High School in Alderton Hill, Loughton.

The district has claimed the planned block would be “incongruous” with its surroundings, and criticised the county for not fully considering other options.

The building would contain six classrooms, a library and other facilities, helping the school expand at a rate of 30 year seven places per year.

However, district planning officer Stephan Solon said: “The proposed development would not respect its setting and as a consequence would cause significant harm to the character and appearance of the locality.

“The district council recognises the need for expansion at the school, however, the need for expansion is not demonstrably outweighed by the degree of harm likely to be caused by the proposal.”

Due to its size, design and location, the block would be in “sharp contrast” to the rest of the school, Mr Solon said.

He also claimed “there are alternative ways of meeting the need for the development that have not been fully adequately assessed”, and suggested other options such as an ‘L’ shaped building.

A county spokesman said the district has not had a response to its objection, as it will be taken into consideration alongside others as part of the planning process.

County education councillor Ray Gooding said: “The demand for secondary school places in the Loughton area is expected to rise dramatically over the coming years.

“Our plans to expand Roding Valley High School, as well as West Hatch High School in neighbouring Chigwell, would ensure the area has 90 new year seven places per year from September 2018.

“Roding Valley High School and its planning agents consulted with the public about the design and layout of the scheme prior to formally submitting their planning application.

“As with all planning applications, any representations will be placed on file and taken into consideration when the County Planning Authority determine the application.”