Angry neighbours fear Twickenham Green could become a traffic nightmare if plans for a new 420-pupil primary school are given the go-ahead.

The new free school, which the Gems Learning Trust plans to open in September 2015, will be situated in the vacant Heathgate House in Colne Road.

It has already received more than 300 expressions of interests from prospective parents but some who live in the street and its surrounding area are "horrified".

Steve King, a Colne Road resident, said: "We are absolutely horrified - the Heathgate House parking spaces are being turned into a playground so where are staff going to park?

"Not to mention parents and carers dropping off their children, which will cause chaos. The proposal, in our opinion, seems totally unsafe for cars, pedestrians and residents."

People are being consulted on the application, which is subject to the planning committee ratifying the change of use from office to school.

Another Colne Road resident, who asked not to be named, said it would exasperate an already busy road.

She said: "It is just asking for trouble - it is a dangerous on a very narrow road.

"As a mother myself, the safety aspect has to be taken into consideration because, with so many children being picked up and dropped off, it would be incredibly dangerous."

The school has already appointed Pippa Hogg Andrews as principal designate, who takes up her post next month.

Jodie Croft, senior manager at Gems Learning Trust, said: “We understand the concerns local residents have about increased traffic in this area and if permission for change of use is granted, the school will fully comply with the planning conditions for the school travel plan.

“We will work hard to ensure that children are walked to school and to reduce the need for parents to drop off by car, this may mean that we deploy staff to collect children from a less congested area and walk them over to the school.”

She said the new primary academy will not serve all of Richmond.

She said: “We have not defined a catchment area but local authority data tells us that the primary schools in Twickenham are full in key stage 1 so we expect the children to live close to the school.”

The office building has been vacant for well over a year, having previously housed KP Nuts and Richmond Housing Partnership.

Last year, the property was temporarily occupied by a group of 12 squatters.

The school has an open event at the David Lloyd Leisure Centre in Staines Road, Hampton, on December 8 between 6pm to 8pm.

The planning application number is 14/4611/P3KPA.