PLANS to build an eco-friendly business and environment centre at a Leyland school are in the pipeline.

Wellfield High School, Yewlands Drive, want to renovate a disused school building into a £200,000 business enterprise and environmental centre and power it using a solar panelled roof and a 15m wind turbine.

Education chiefs believe the new 'green' building will be the first of its kind in Lancashire.

Headteacher Martin Ainsworth said: "It's important to be as environmentally conscious as possible and hopefully by having the turbine and solar panels it will encourage our pupils to become more aware.

"The plans can only help their development and instill environmental issues into them and hopefully they will take their knowledge on into later life."

The new two storey centre will have meeting rooms, an office, a computer suite, an internet cafe downstairs, and an environmental centre on the first floor, for use by the school's 565 pupils and the community.

It ties in with the school's bid to gain business and enterprise college status, from the Department for the Education and Skills, who will stump up £100,000 funding if the award is granted. A decision is expected in the next fortnight.

It will also be funded by local businesses, the Government's Clear Skies campaign, the Scottish Power Green Energy Trust and cash from the school's budget.

Mr Ainsworth added: "Obviously I'd be deeply disappointed if we weren't given specialist status and it would mean we'd need to find more money from elsewhere.

"But it wouldn't stop us, we'd keep applying and fundraising until we managed to build the centre."

Next month work will also begin on a new £1.4 million sports centre at the school which is being built at the side of the proposed new centre.