ALMOST 3,000 people have joined a group aiming to prevent a secondary school being built in a popular park.

Stockton Borough Council is carrying out an ongoing study into options to improve secondary school education in Yarm, Ingleby Barwick and Eaglescliffe.

All Saints’ CE School, in Ingleby Barwick, Conyers School, in Yarm, and Egglescliffe School, in Eaglescliffe, are not included in the first phase of the £180m Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme.

But many residents have reacted angrily to the idea of using Preston Park as a possible future site for Eaglescliffe School, and concerns have been raised about a number of other options being looked at.

Protect Preston Park has been formed by nearby residents and lovers of the tourist attraction and, so far, more than 2,900 people have signed up to the group on social networking website Facebook.

More than 200 residents turned up to a meeting in All Saints’ Church, Eaglescliffe, on Wednesday to discuss ways to prevent a school being built in the park. Volunteers plan to form a committee, with the aim of preserving the park.

Campaign suggestions included posters, car bumper stickers, lobbying and contacting conservation groups.

Coun Maureen Rigg, of Eaglescliffe, said: “The campaign is about saving Preston Park.”

Stefan Houghton, of Eaglescliffe, who set up the Facebook group, said: “There are lots of arguments against building a school in Preston Park, but we need to look at things practically too.

“Ingleby Barwick does need more school places, no-one doubts that.”

Janice Kay wrote on Facebook: “Leave Egglescliffe School in Egglescliffe.

“I went there, as did my daughter, and I would like future generations to go there too.”

Carl Simmons added: “I grew up visiting Preston Park, as did a lot of my friends and family. It would be a shame to take that same experience from our kids.”

At Stockton Borough Council’s cabinet meeting last month, four options, from eight outlined in a special report, were selected to be investigated further:

● To increase All Saints’ School from 600 to 900 places, refurbish Conyers School to provide 900 places and a 200-place sixth form, and rebuild Egglescliffe School on its Allen’s West playing fields to provide 1,050 places and a 250-place sixth form;

● As above, but to rebuild Egglescliffe School on its current site;

● To increase the capacity of All Saints’ School to 1,050 and reduce Conyers School and Egglescliffe School to 900 each;

● To move Egglescliffe School to sites nearer Ingleby Barwick.

If Egglescliffe School was rebuilt in Preston Park, the adjacent land, which is used for allotments, would have to be incorporated because the overflow car park would be too small.