A number of Burnham children starting primary school this year are having to travel out of town due to a lack of local school places.

In total, 15 children have been unable to get a primary school place locally, meaning 13 will have to take a bus to nearby Southminster while two others are going elsewhere.

Councillor Wendy Stamp, who represents Burnham at Essex County Council, wants extra capacity to be created in the town where 15 children did not get a place starting in September 2025.

She said: "Southminster is the next village, but it's not the point. They can't cross the road to go to school; they have to go by bus. We knew this was going to happen; there was going to be a spike because of COVID. It wasn't as if the council couldn't have foreseen that."

She added that going to school in another village means some children have had barriers placed on them to form relationships and friendships with other children.

She said it was time extra funding was delivered for Burnham."I know everything has got to be costed, and I do think this is because they didn't want to build the new school.

"Inevitably, there's going to be more development, so why not start the discussions now."

Councillor Tony Ball, Cabinet Member for Education Excellence, Lifelong Learning and Employability at Essex County Council, said: "The lack of land in the Burnham-on-Crouch area has meant plans to create local nursery provision have not been possible to progress.

"However, the early years team recently announced £284,961 of Section 106 funding specifically for the Burnham-on-Crouch area, enabling local childcare providers to apply for funding and create places."