Boarding school row: It's about planning, not race, locals insist However, Mrs Reynolds described the site, which occupies around 20 acres, as "unsuitable for development" and said the school would "ruin the countryside." She claimed that Durand Academy had not consulted with locals living in the area. "The school being built on this beautiful green site will mean it will affect people's leisure activities," she told the Today programme. A lot of people ride there, cycle and walk their dogs. It's really going to ruin the countryside and we're in the middle of a newly formed national park so we would expect our countryside to be protected against huge developments like this. The planners have been consulting with Durand but Durand have not been consulting with the local villagers. We've been trying to get a meeting with Michael Gove for the last 18 months but the doors have been shut to us. Mrs Reynolds said there was "no evidence" that children would benefit from this type of school. She added: "It is the first of its kind so we think it's a bold experiment." Mr Cherry resigned after he questioned whether it was right to "pluck" the students from their "natural surroundings." Ninety-seven per cent of pupils will be black or Asian. If they're Pakistani they won't," he told The Mail on Sunday. He added: "If the children are not allowed out of the site then it will make them want to escape into the forest - it will be a sexual volcano." The trauma of taking the children out of their natural surroundings is going to be considerable. Resigning last night, Cllr Cherry said:"My remarks about Durand Academy, as reported in the Mail on Sunday, were plainly wrong. They were thoughtless and extremely foolish. I unreservedly apologise and withdraw them. I very much regret the distress this must have caused. Greg martin, executive head at Durand Academy denied the school had failed to consult locals. He said:"The idea we haven't consulted with the local community isn't true. We've had over 30 meetings with the local community and planners. It is a bold experiment which will be very effective. Our children will go on to do extremely well and I believe the local community will be deeply proud of this.