ALCESTER High School has been offered a new £10.5m state-of-the-art home . . . absolutely free.

A Shipston-based property developer has offered to build the new 900-pupil school in exchange for its current Gerard Road site.

Building firm Pettifers was approached by Alcester High School's action group, governors and Alcester MP, John Maples, to help in the search for a new site between Birmingham Road and the Alcester bypass, north of Allimore Lane.

Pettifers are one of three landowners of the site along with Gallagher Estates and Bloor Homes. Three years ago an application to build 400 homes on the land was thrown out by Stratford District Council.

One problem, which could scupper the proposals, is the new Local Plan, the revised draft of which has designated this land as green belt.

But if plans are approved, the Gerard Road site would be then handed to developers to build nearly 100 houses. A further 300 would be built next to the new school in Allimore Lane. Around 20 per cent of the properties would be affordable housing.

David MacMullen, a director for the Pettifer Group said all three landowners were acting as one with the proposal.

Mr MacMullen said school governors supported the plans unanimously apart from one abstention.

To help with proposals the action group for a new Alcester high school is already a third of a way through a major town survey to find out what residents and businesses think of proposals.

The news also comes just weeks after the school was granted planning permission to extend its Gerard Road site with new classrooms and car parking. That scheme would cost around £1.7 million funded by Warwickshire County Council.