A PLAN to install a stained glass ?peace window? at a Listed West Devon school finally got the thumbs up this week, following a U-turn by the borough?s planning committee.

The window, made by an elderly Benedictine monk from Buckland Abbey, will be installed in the hall at the

Victorian Milton Abbot School, probably towards the end of this year.

West Devon Council?s planning committee gave planning consent for the window, despite recommendations to reject it for a second time.

Peter Jones, headteacher at Milton Abbot, was delighted by the news: ?I am so pleased the planning committee has taken a fresh look at our revised plan and

decided to approve it ? it means the world to us here.

?We freely admit the original rejection made us rethink the best way of installing the window in a more sensitive way. I think we have ended up with a solution that pleases just everybody.?

Mr Jones said the window was ?not just a decorative item?. He hoped to create links with other schools and communities who had installed similar windows and said it was important to give children an opportunity to consider peace as a way of life and learn ways to resolve conflict.

?We had always been convinced the hall was the perfect place for the window, because it had to be where the children were; especially for assemblies and mealtimes. It will look stunning with the natural sunlight pouring through it during the day,? said Mr Jones.

?I?m sure it will be enjoyed as a beautiful addition to our school in future. But I also hope all people seeing it will reflect on the significance of the window as a symbol of hope and peace ? I wish we had it here today in these difficult times.?

Milton Abbot School has raised around £3,000 towards the window so far and is confident it can hit its £5,000 target before the end of the year.

Planning officer Edward Persse told planning committee members at Tuesday?s meeting that despite improvements to the school?s application, it was still considered to be detrimental to the character of the Grade II Listed building by both West Devon?s conservation officer and the county council?s experts.

Cllr Roger Mathew, committee chairman, said the previous application had been ?pretty hideous? and while the new scheme, which included restoring an additional window to its original style, was ?not as horrifying?, he still could not support it.

?I simply don?t think it?s right,? he said, comparing the installation of the round stained glass panel with ?stuffing a Coca-Cola logo in the bottom half of a window?.

But Graeme Barclay, agent for the school, said putting a circular window within a gothic pointed window frame ?should not be a problem? and cited the west front of Exeter Cathedral, which used a similar architectural style.

He said the school building, founded by the Duke of Bedford in 1829, was ?mock gothic? and it could be argued there was scope to break architectural rules in this case.

?The changes involved will be an improvement and at the very least have a neutral impact, not negative,? he said.

And Cllr Dilwyn Hughes, ward member, said: ?In years to come the residents of West Devon and in particular Milton Abbot will bless and value the wise decision of this committee in granting permission for the peace window to be installed ? and of course, the children, who will hold a minute?s silence for peace every day of their lives at primary school.?

The committee agreed by six votes to one to grant permission for the scheme, on grounds that, aesthetically, restoring an additional window to its original form would outweigh the ?disbenefits? of the installation of the stained glass panel.

Permission was granted on condition the other window should be restored first.