An outdoor education centre's bid to expand in order to teach 60 pupils at a time has sparked fears of increased traffic problems during the school run.

Woodpeckers Court, near Eythorne, between Dover and Deal, caters for children from Year 7 onwards and currently has about 40 on its register.

Currently the site consists of a therapy hut, two classrooms, two outdoor cooking sites, three workshops, a rifle range, a craft shed and several team-building areas in the woodland. But it wants to put up two new buildings on its site.

Dover District Council, which will hear the application tonight, counted 161 members of the public approving the plan.

Their feedback to the council's planning department, following consultation, was that this scheme supported the local community and met an educational need.

Supporters added that the project would raise the profile of the area and the development was far enough from nearby properties.

However the width of the track up to the school has raised concerns.

Eythorne Parish Council and nearly 40 other residents made objections claiming the track is not big enough for two cars and that it is chaos at the end of the school day.

Other concerns included loss of privacy, increase in noise and general disturbance.

The centre wants one of the new buildings as a classroom and the other for a canteen to replace an existing mobile catering unit.

The hope is to increase the number of pupils on the site from 40 to 60.

In a statement to DDC, principal Dominic Meehan said: “Woodpecker Court continues to offer a unique and effective solution in the work they do, providing a service which has won national awards and recognition providing support and learning for children from local schools in the Dover district who otherwise have little opportunity in mainstream education.

“It’s therefore no surprise that the call from local education providers for placement at the school have increased as their reputation builds.

“For this reason alone, we hope the council can lend its continued support to this business and grant permission to allow this small expansion and associated improvements.”

Planning officers have recommended approval of the application.

It will be discussed at Dover District Council's planning committee meeting at its headquarters at the White Cliffs Business Park, Whitfield, from 6pm tonight.