A recommendation for a former school site to be nominated as a community asset looks set to be approved by a council.

Cllr Lucy Grieve of Portland Town Council hopes to have the former Brackenbury Infants School reserved for the community so that it can become the site of a new free primary school.

A motion to nominate the site to become a community asset was moved by the councillor at a meeting of Portland Town Council’s planning and highways advisory committee last month.

The motion passed, but to put the nomination forward to Dorset Councils Partnership for the next stage in approving it, it needs to be voted on by the full council.

Dorset County Council put the Brackenbury Infants School site up for sale in June and is “anxious” to sell it on, says Cllr Grieve.

She said to the planning and highways advisory committee that members must nominate the site or it could be sold before a community group can make a bid for it.

Cllr Grieve was delighted by the broad support her plans received, though she was surprised the nomination had to be made by the entire council, as only certain bodies are able to make them.

She said: “Everyone one was totally in favour of it. The problem is that the nomination was unfortunately not complete. It had to be approved by the full council.”

However, she believes that the recommendation to the full council is likely to pass as the planning and highways advisory committee makes up most of the full council.

The vote will take place at an extraordinary Portland Town Council meeting at Easton Methodist Church Hall on Wednesday, September 6, at 6.45pm.

Cllr Grieve is part of a group intending to submit an application for a new free primary for Underhill, to be called Portland Primary School, and she believes the former Brackenbury Infants School would be the perfect site for it.

She said: “It’s a terrific site. The building is completely sound and the interior is nearly perfect and the classrooms are as if the children left yesterday. It’s even got smartboards, projectors and gym equipment in the hall. We could move into it next week.”

She added that the school site could also be used as a community hub, as it was before the infants school closed, especially for the elderly.

The councillor thought it would be fantastic if the nomination was eventually accepted.

She said: “I think it would be terrific – I would be really happy. It would be a great boost for Underhill.”