THE Ministry of Defence has thwarted a school's hopes of moving to a better site.

The Douay Martyrs School unveiled plans last week to move its two campuses in Edinburgh Drive to one new school at RAF West Ruislip, one of six sites being sold by the MoD to raise funds to improve RAF Northolt.

But the MoD shot the proposal down in flames this week because it want more money for the land.

Cllr Mike Cox (Lib Dem, Manor), has launched a scathing attack on the MoD.

He said: "The fact that the proposal was rejected out of hand shows the gross negligence of the MoD who clearly don't care about the community they are leaving.

"They are after a fast buck but they are not concerned about improvements to the community as a whole.

"It was an imaginative scheme that had a lot going for it - they've shown a scant disregard for the local people."

The Ickenham school proposed swapping its two school sites, which could then be used for residential development, for land at the RAF site.

The scheme intended to improve transport links for staff and pupils and would have provided investment for the school and la ocal adult education facility.

But the school has received a letter from the MoD's defence estates department saying the proposal was not being considered further.

In the letter, lands advisor George Kernaghan told John Miley, chairman of the school governors' buildings committee, that the department would not be considering the proposal because it did not think the school had enough money.

But Mr Miley said VSM Estates, the company organising the sale of MoD land, did not even visit the school to discuss the move.

He believes the offer is being snubbed because more money could be made from selling the land for housing.

He said: "We've just been turned down out of hand. They want to raise as much money as possible so they can redevelop RAF Northolt.

"We're asking them for a like-for-like swap - if there needs to be some money exchanged that's fine.

"But they're just trying to block us out without any further discussion."

He said school governers recently submitted a target Capital Bid for £17.175 million which they would have used to build the new site.

A spokesmen for Defence Estates said: "In disposing of the surplus MoD sites, VSM Estates must comply with government guidelines that require it to maximise its return on sales.

"It concluded that based on the current planning proposals, the proposed land simply did not represent the best value for money."

l A public consultation on the RAF site will be held between 10am and 8pm on November 3, and between 10am and 1pm on Saturday, November 4.