A charter school that had been considering leasing land to build a new school at a popular Walker Township recreation site owned by Tamaqua is no longer interested in doing so.

“The Socrates Society, which was the agricultural charter school, has basically made us aware that they are no longer interested in the potential leasing of the Rabbit Run property,” Tamaqua Borough Council President Brian Connely said at Tuesday’s meeting.

The land, which surrounds the Rabbit Run reservoir, is off Valley Road in the New England Valley.

Last month, members of the Rabbit Run Fish and Game Commission — along with area residents and elected officials from Walker Township — attended council’s meeting to express concerns about the impact the charter school would have on the recreational area, which features fishing, trails and baseball fields.

While it was the first time the potential project was discussed at a Tamaqua meeting, Socrates officials had approached Walker Township with its preliminary plans.

Those at last month’s Tamaqua council meeting were worried that if the school for 400 students was built, it would mean increased traffic, limited access to the fishing reservoir and a drain on the area’s water supply.

The Rabbit Run Fish and Game Commission, which raises trout at an on-site cooperative nursery with the Pennsylvania Fish Commission, also feared the lease would signal the end of the nursery.