A college which provides essential support for young people with learning difficulties fears its rural calm will be shattered by controversial plans for an eco-business park.

Dale Vince, boss of green energy provider Ecotricity, today announced he has revised his scheme to build a football stadium and eco-business park at Eastington near the M5 junction.

Blaming highways delays, he has moved the proposed new stadium (pictured)from south of the A419 road to north of the highway and shelved the business park plan-at least for the time being.

But the decision may provide cold comfort for William Morris College at Eastington whose premises are just a few feet from Ecotricity's southern site. For many believe that eventually, under the "flipped" scheme, the business park will be built in a later, second phase causing major disruption to the life of the college and its vulnerable students.

Mr Vince wants to provide a new stadium for Forest Green Rovers which he owns. But speaking on BBC Radio Gloucestershire today he said he had revised his plans, mainly because of delays in gaining the go-ahead from county highways officials.

He said: "We are essentially dropping the greentech business park element of the whole concept and focussing only on FGR's (Forest Green Rovers) needs for now which is a new stadium and training ground.

"We are moving all of that onto the north site so there will be no development on the southern piece of land."

But local people at Eastington say there are still too many questions unanswered, including what will happen to the southern site and the effect a future business park would have on the rural nature of the area.

Richard Holland of Keep Eastington Rural told BBC Radio Gloucestershire: "Where is the stadium actually going to be built. What is going to happen to the rest of the land?

"Will Ecotricity relocate from Stroud to the stadium site? We don't know. There are so many open questions here."

William Morris College is just a few feet from the boundary of Ecotricity's southern site. It provides essential learning and independence skills for young people with learning difficulties.

College director John Nissler said if the business park did get eventually get built the disruption to the college would be massive and effectively shatter what is an oasis of calm for the students who need tranquillity and minimal disruption.

"This is a real problem and a real issue for our students," he said. They have major conditions, they have been given a hard hand in life with severe autism and associated difficulties like epilepsy and Downs syndrome.

"All of these make them extremely vulnerable. The mark of civilisation in my mind is compassion. If we don't have compassion for this most vulnerable group of people why are we here?"

He added: "The minute they put a spade in the ground, or bring workmen on site, or open up the back lane to bring heavy equipment in is the minute this place goes into shutdown."

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