The opening of a huge education campus catering for more than 2,200 secondary and primary school pupils has been delayed by three years.

Alkerden C of E Academy, in Ebbsfleet Garden City, between Dartford and Gravesend, was supposed to be completed by September this year but it has been pushed back to 2026.

The developers say there isn’t currently demand for it, and opening too early could see places go to children from outside the area.

It was initially thought the secondary school would be open by September 2022 followed by the primary in 2023.

Construction was expected to begin in the summer of 2021 but it did not start until this year, with the foundations for the secondary school now almost complete.

A statement provided by developers of the scheme, Henley Camland, read: “Since commencing the works the Autumn Budget, the well-documented impact on interest rates, mortgages and subsequent slowing of house sales, has necessitated a review of occupation rates and current demand for school places.

“Our aspiration following the Covid outbreak was to open the secondary school in September 2024, on a phased basis, starting with years 7 and 8.

“Having assessed the current and forecast number of properties on the Whitecliffe and Ebbsfleet Green developments, it is now considered this would be far beyond the required capacity and cause availability issues for future pupils from those areas.

“We have spent the last few months working with our stakeholder partners, Kent County Council (KCC), Ebbsfleet Development Corporation (EDC) and the Aletheia Academies Trust reviewing this situation very carefully.

“It has been jointly decided with the stakeholder partners that, in the interest of protecting future capacity, the correct decision is to commence secondary school provision in September 2025.

“This provision will start with four forms of Year 7. As the number of pupils is relatively small, for the first 12 months provision will be made in temporary modular accommodation.

“Work on the campus started on site in 2022 and the three main buildings, which will include a community sports facility, are planned to be fully completed and ready for handover to Aletheia Academies Trust in summer 2026.”

Plans for the education hub were given the green light in February 2021 after an application was submitted to the EDC - the planning authority for the Garden City - in December 2019.

It will occupy a 11.1 hectare site with an eight-form-entry secondary school and two-form entry primary school, nursery, community sports centre and sports pitches, play areas and car and cycle parking.

Once the education campus is completed it will be managed by the Aletheia Anglican Academies Trust, which previously won a tender to open the new school from KCC.

The statement added: “Alkerden C of E Academy, the education hub at the heart of Whitecliffe, continues to be one of the key cornerstones in the new development site. We see it as essential infrastructure to residents of the growing community.”

As such, we remain committed to bringing it forward and into use for the children of existing and new residents as soon as is practically possible, whilst ensuring we align its delivery with the projected pupil places arising from the site.

“This is to avoid the situation of over-provision resulting in a disproportionate allocation of spaces to children, and thus siblings, from outside the Ebbsfleet catchment area.”

The new on-site secondary school will have space for 1,680 pupils, plus a sixth form and a 25-place special resource provision for autistic pupils.

It will be accompanied by a primary school with room for 446 pupils and will also cater for early years and special educational needs.