GREAT Yarmouth MP Tony Wright gave a pledge to parents that he would bring officials from Norfolk County Council and the Environment Agency together to clear the final obstacles holding up a �2.

GREAT Yarmouth MP Tony Wright gave a pledge to parents that he would bring officials from Norfolk County Council and the Environment Agency together to clear the final obstacles holding up a �2.3m building project at Cobholm Primary School.

At a packed meeting at the school on Friday, the council's school development officer Alison Cunningham explained how the scheme was being held up by the agency's demands for a flood response plan and tests to ensure the building design would be adequate to withstand a flood.

However, she told parents she was now hopeful the problems could be resolved in a way that would allow building work to go ahead within budget, allowing the school to become a fully fledged primary school. If that was the case and planning was granted, building could start in late summer, taking a projected 48 weeks.

She stressed that no extra money was available so if changes were required that took the cost to more than �2.3m, the scheme would have to be dropped.

However, whatever happened, the money that had been set aside would continue to be used for the schooling of the children of Cobholm.

Parents were told that despite the building delays, a way had been found for Year Five children to stay at the school into Year Six, from September, by introducing mixed-age classes.

Mr Wright, who attended the meeting along with local county councillor John Holmes, pledged to organise a meeting between the council and Environment Agency to speed up the plans.