Signs reading “Keep it green” and “No build zone” have been put up around a site earmarked for a new private school in Pembroke.

Lying not far away from scheduled garigue where a proposed golf course development was refused in 2002, the unbuilt area off Gabriele Henin Street is “one of the last remaining open spots in the area”, according to local residents.

An outline proposal by CHS (Chiswick House School) Ltd has been filed for the construction of a primary school with 36 classrooms, outdoor sport facilities and 82 parking spaces.

The area falls within the development zone.

The new school is planned for one end of Gabriele Henin Street, already the site of the Pembroke primary school.

For the residents who spoke to this newspaper, the new development will only increase the existing traffic in the area. It takes one resident – who leaves home for work at around the same time that schools open their doors to students – some 35 to 40 minutes just to exit the locality.

The man said there were already some nine schools and institutes in the area, and any additional ones would only increase congestion.

Another resident noted that most roads in Pembroke were not built for heavy traffic, and cars sometimes had to make way for oncoming buses.

But the development will also mean less open space for neighbouring families.

“Why do we have to fill every green space with concrete?” the resident asked, adding that others from the area would be getting together to oppose the development. They have until August 28 to file a representation.

Another resident has already registered his objection. The site is said to be of ecological importance, and other projects in the area have already been refused permission, he said.

The school will never aesthetically complement the rest of the properties on Gabriele Henin Street, the Pembroke resident noted.