Protesters vowed more direct action in their battle to block an academy project last night.

Brent Council and children's charity ARK want to build a new school on Wembley Park Sports Ground but a coalition of campaigners, from residents' groups to teachers, oppose the project.

Hank Roberts, leader of Wembley Park Action Group (WPAG), refused to say what the organisation had planned but said its action would not negatively affect pupils at Wembley Academy, in Bridge Road.

He said: “Brent Council have had a great deal of grief from local people in trying to put this through. I'm immensely proud of everyone who has given them that grief. They deserve it.”

His calls came in a public meeting at the Torch pub where politicians, from Greens to Tories, rallied the troops ahead of a planning application due to be submitted for the academy.

Councillor Bob Blackman, leader of the Tory group, said his party had led opposition to the proposals despite being part of a coalition running the council with the Liberal Democrats.

He said: “The Wembley Park playing fields are not the place to put any form of school. We have consistently fought against that both on Brent Council and on the executive committee.”

Residents and teachers oppose the plans on a number of grounds, with many claiming a new school is needed in the south rather than the north of the borough.

There is also widespread concern about the impact the school will have on parking, and Barn Hill Residents' Association has raised thousands of pounds to pay for a professional assessment.

But there is also a large contingency of people who oppose the plans on principle because of their opposition to academies in general.

Martin Francis, former headteacher of Park Lane Primary School and Green Party candidate for Brent North, said: “We are losing our schools.

“I say no taxation without representation. We have no representation here so don't let them take our schools away from us.”

Approval has already been granted for a temporary teaching block, where lessons currently take place, but if the project is to go ahead the council's planning department must give permission for the permanent school.

Mr Roberts and his group have already taken the council to the High Court over the project, and lost, but vowed to mount another legal challenge if planning permission is granted.