FIVE new schools will have to be built in Barnsley over the next five years if the council is to tackle a shortage of primary pupil places.
Cllr Tim Cheetham warned a shortage of primary school places in the borough is 'not a temporary problem'.
Council figures show a shortage of about 88 reception class places in 2015, and in 2016 a shortage of 84.
"If a school has a spare classroom and can take one extra class, instead of taking 30 pupils it would take 60 in two classes," said Cllr Cheetham.
He is worried there is a danger of stripping schools of their libraries and IT suites to accommodate extra pupils.
"Looking at the forecasts we have made it's a permanent problem - and the town centre is where the real pressure is coming up.
"We have the capacity in secondary schools to cope but at primary level we have an issue."
