A BUILDING firm is being accused of using "bully-boy tactics" after threatening to tear down Bidford's Victorian school buildings.

Westbury Homes wrote to Stratford District Council on Monday serving 48 hours' notice that it intended to demolish all the school buildings on its Victoria Road site to make way for houses.

The move follows a planning committee meeting last Thursday at which councillors deferred a decision on the firm's application to demolish the school buildings after claiming its original proposal to convert the buildings was not commercially viable.

English Heritage is also considering a plea by Bidford district councillors to list the buildings to prevent Westbury from pulling them down.

District councillor Daren Pemberton said that by threatening to demolish all the buildings, including the Old School House, which even last week it still planned to convert, Westbury was "throwing its weight around" and being a "bully-boy".

"I've not been impressed by the arguments they've put forward. It's just sticking two fingers up at the planning authority," said Cllr Pemberton.

Resident Pamela Tompkins, who has more than 300 signatures on a petition objecting to Westbury's plans, said villagers are very angry at the latest threat.

"People are very upset. Westbury is just saying 'we are the big boys and you can't stop us'," said Mrs Tompkins, of The Meadows, Bidford.

Westbury Homes spokeswoman Julia Chandler admitted that the letter serving notice of demolition was a "shot across the bows" of the planning committee.

"We are still hoping desperately that they will accept the proposals that are in which, to be frank, have been approved by everybody except those on the committee," said Ms Chandler.

"People keep thinking it's us being grasping but we can't restore that building. We are trying to offer a compromise we thought everybody would be happy with," she added.

English Heritage spokeswoman Helen Barnett said: "We have been asked to look at the Old School in Bidford. We are treating that as an urgent priority."

Residents' fears that the school buildings would be demolished this week receded yesterday after Stratford District Council building control department told the developers that 48 hours' notice was unacceptable and gave them a six-week deadline to notify the council of any demolition plans.

Bidford Parish Council clerk Elisabeth Uggerloese said parish councillors would prefer the buildings to be converted, as proposed in Westbury's original plans, but said that they were determined that any new building on the site would be within the footprint and be no higher as the existing building.