A school’s bid for a BMX and mountain bike track just yards from a row of homes has left residents fearing: “It will be like living next to a motorway!”

Folkestone Academy has submitted plans to build the facility on a section of its campus close to the back gardens of the houses in Grasmere Gardens.

The £150,000 project includes a 480-metre trail split into two loops and a free-flowing area with jumps and obstacles.

But the move has not gone down well with neighbours, who claim their lives will be blighted by noisy bikers.

Kevin Black, who has lived in Grasmere Gardens for 20 years, said: “I don’t think the impact on the community has been considered - it really is the wrong area for it.

“You might as well build a motorway back there with all the noise it’ll create.

“This is a very quiet area, but now we’ll have a BMX track 20 metres from our house. Not enough thought has gone into this.”

Other neighbours are also concerned their privacy will be invaded by BMXers performing jumps and peering over their fences.

Emma Black, 45, said: “Who are these people who are looking straight into our houses and seeing what we’ve got?

“When you’ve got a great big bike track on your back fence panel, you aren’t going to be able to sell this place.

“I’m not against it. Kids need something, but it’s too close to our houses.”

Folkestone Academy’s application proposes the track be available to supervised groups or clubs from Monday to Friday between 10am and 6pm, and at weekends from 10am to 4pm.

Patrica Hart, who has lived in Grasmere Gardens for more than 40 years, remembers when concerns were raised about the construction of the school itself.

But the 66-year-old says residents were at the time consulted more and had their views listened to before the Academy opened in 2007.

“Last time, we felt like we had a voice and could pull them up on a few things,” she said.

“We had lots of consultations about the school, where everybody could ask questions, and we could work out compromises between us all.

“Originally, they wanted a path coming right against our fence, but we argued over why it needed to be so close. We came to an agreement, and they moved it back.

“But this time, we just had a letter with a QR code, and we had less than two weeks to submit our views. Some neighbours were away. They could’ve come and spoken to all of us.”

Folkestone Academy, which is overseen by the Turner School Trust, has also submitted plans for the UK’s first school skate park on its campus.

It already teaches skateboarding, and the principal hopes that with the sport’s growing popularity a future world champion could come from the town.

Residents have fewer concerns about the skate park as it has been positioned further away from their homes.

In a statement, Turner School Trust says it hopes to address neighbours' fears about the proposed scheme.

A spokeswoman said: "We are very excited at the prospect of bringing the sport and exercise opportunity this development would provide to our students and the community, encouraging healthy lifestyles and active travel.

"The mountain bike track would be used by both primary and secondary pupils in supervised sessions covering PE lessons and lunchtime, after school and Saturday morning clubs.

"We also propose that it be made available for managed, wider community use, much like our other sporting facilities.

"The use will also be limited by natural light with no proposed extra lighting; the surface will be constructed from sustainable compacted type 1 stone with additional trees/foliage to be planted around the area.

"Track users will be able to access the same toilet facilities with external access that are currently used by other users, and the Trust is proud of the cleanliness of its current facilities.”