CONCERNS have been raised about maintenance costs at Bromyard's high school after a blow to rebuilding plans.

A move by Herefordshire Council to completely replace Queen Elizabeth High School's buildings have been put on hold after a county bid for Government funding failed.

Herefordshire Council's spokes-man for education Don Rule is concerned that maintenance works to buildings at the school, which date back to 1962, will now cost the council dear.

"The school has structural problems and I predict that major work on them will now be pushed back at least five years. It feels almost like we're throwing money away," he said.

The council applied for £150 million of funding from the Govern-ment's Building Schools for the Future project, to repair or re-build all 14 of its secondary schools.

The Department for Education told the council last Thursday that local authorities in Gateshead and Tyneside, Knowsley, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle, Manches-ter, Newham, Stoke, Sunderland and Waltham Forest had submitted stronger cases for funding.

"What's most disappointing is that when the Government ann-ounced how they would arrange the scheme, they said they'd include one rural authority and they haven't," said Coun Rule, "All the authorities receiving funding are urban or metropolitan.

"We knew it would be competitive, but we felt confident that we stood a very good chance of getting the funding for the rural authority and were very disappointed when the Government didn't do what they said they would."

Local authorities will have another chance to apply for Government funding in the second phase of the programme in the autumn.

"Our next step is to lobby the Government to find out why they didn't keep their promise," said Coun Rule.

"We will also discuss our next application with Government departments to ensure that we've a good chance of being successful for the next round of funding."

Ward councillor for Bromyard, Bernard Hunt said: "I was extremely disappointed to hear of this. It really is a case of the Government breaking its promise.

"The people who will suffer from this are the most vulnerable in society - school children."