LAND close to a Colne primary school has been gifted to education chiefs so that a new wildlife garden can be created for youngsters.

Plans have been put forward by Sacred Heart RC Primary for a portion of land, belonging to Pendle Council, located to the north-west of its Red Lane site.

Councillors from the borough’s executive have now granted a 99-year lease to the Salford Roman Catholic Diocesan Trustees to formally adopt the plot.

Property official Stephen Martens said in a council report that the authority would nominally forsake £4,000 a year for a ‘garden use’ of the site.

And if it was sold off and planning permission was obtained for housing then the value of the triangular-shaped building would be around £130,000.

Mr Martens said that the school governors had been granted a lease to use the land as a wildlife garden and pedestrian footpath since 2005.

Councillors also heard that selling off any playing fields or habitat land, surrounding a school, had needed the express consent of the Department of Education since 2010.

The deal would need to re-evaluated if the land was used as anything other than a wildlife garden.