Children’s lives could be put at risk if a marina is built next to a primary school, it has been warned.

Residents said the plan for a marina for 31 boats and 21 parking spaces at School Lane, Cropredy, posed a “risk of drowning” to Cropredy Primary School pupils.

Councillors will tomorrow be asked to make a decision on the plan, next to the school, and a larger marina to the north of the village. Planning officer Caroline Roche said: “The school and some residents have raised concerns about the compatibility of the marina use adjacent to the school.”

But she said the planned site had been moved further from the school and it was “reasonable to expect” pupils to be banned from entering.

While “not all children will obey rules” the issue “is not one that the planning process can be expected to control”, she added.

Governors also raised concerns about the risks to children from extra traffic.

Cropredy Parish Council also objected, warning School Lane, a private road, is in too poor a condition to take the extra traffic.

A further 44 objections opposed the plan with concerns about its visual impact and impact on flooding.

Miss Roche is recommending Cherwell District Council’s planning committee to approve the scheme along with a plan for 249 moorings and 129 spaces off Claydon Road.

The committee will meet at Bodicote House, Bodicote, at 4pm to discuss the plans.