A hard-line Christian fellowship’s controversial plans to open a new school in the Bucks countryside have been recommended for refusal by councillors.

A new primary and secondary school site in Cadmore End could be built for the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church – a conservative Christian religion which the majority of members are born into – if the plans are given the go-ahead at Wycombe District Council’s planning committee next Wednesday.

However, the plans have been recommended for refusal at the meeting, amid a string of concerns about the effect the new school could have on the AONB.

The plans have caused a stir among residents and leading charity Humanists UK, who branded the Plymouth Brethren “narrowly religious and extremely insular”.

They believe homosexuality is immoral, women must pray with head scarves on so they do not cause themselves “shame” and are also “concerned” about the “corrupting or damaging” effect of TV and radio on children.

The new school – which would be both a primary and a secondary school – would replace what is currently an equestrian centre on Chequers Lane.

It would cater for 275 pupils and would feature a gym and new sports pitches.

Detailing why the plans should be thrown out, Wycombe District Council’s planning officers said the “remote” location of the site would mean there is only “limited access” without using a car.

And the Plymouth Brethren’s plans reveal that all the pupils at the school would be brought into the site each morning and taken home each evening by a fleet of 26 minibuses.

The council also fears the planned creation of a double-width access from Chequers Lane onto the school site would be “visually intrusive and an alien feature” on the narrow, rural road.

The Buckinghamshire Education Authority have also said they would not expect the school to have a significant impact on the intake of existing Bucks primary and secondary schools because the children are “likely to be educated outside of the mainstream system and outside of the area”.

Twenty-six objections were received from residents who fear it will be unacceptable in terms of noise, increased traffic and extra waste.

Residents were also concerned that the road is used as a rat run when there are delays on the M40, raising fears about the safety of pupils.

The Plymouth Brethren said the school is needed “urgently” because their nearby Stoke Poges site has been purchased by the government and needs to be vacated by the end of 2019 and another in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, has become “unviable”.

They had hoped to open for the start of the new school term in 2019.