​Parents and teachers in Bath have expressed an interest in setting up their own schools under plans unveiled by the Government.

The revelation came as Education Secretary Michael Gove set out how groups can apply to set up their own “free school”.

And he revealed he has ordered a relaxation of planning laws and building regulations which he says are "too bureaucratic" and prevent new schools from being built. It paves the way for houses and shops to be turned into classrooms.

More than 700 groups have expressed an interest in setting up a school, according to the New Schools Network, which helps organisations which want to create their own school.

The list includes at least five groups in Bath and North East Somerset, including parents and teachers.

The Government has launched an online guide and a 10-page application form needed to start the process.

It asks groups to say, in a maximum of 200 words, their reasons for wanting to set up a school.

Groups will also have to show demand from parents, the school's aims, curriculum, teaching methods and possible sites for the school.

A threshold of just 40 or 50 parents will be needed for a primary school bid, with more support needed for a secondary school, Mr Gove told a news conference.

Mr Gove has also said £50 million has been set aside to cover start-up costs for free schools.

But he did not give figures on how much the initiative, and each new school, would cost.

Reducing bureaucracy around planning and building rules helped to cut costs, he said, as did converting existing buildings.

“It's been a tragedy that so much of the money that's been devoted to capital investment for schools has been swallowed up by bureaucracy,” said Mr Gove.

Plans for “free schools”, which were a key plank of the Conservative election manifesto, will see parents, teachers and charities given state funding to set up and operate schools, similar to the Swedish model, which would be taxpayer-funded and non-fee-paying but independent from state control.

The Tories argue that free schools will give parents more choice, narrow the achievement gap between rich and poor youngsters and drive up standards across the system because of the element of competition it will create.

The first “free schools” are expected to open in September next year.

But unions have branded free schools as an “unnecessary and costly gamble in educating the country's children”.

And Shadow Education Secretary Ed Balls said the Government’s proposals for free schools were a “free market experiment” that would not work in the education system.

“I think the market economy works really well on the high street...but do you really want a market in education, where as I said, there's private companies cutting costs and touting for business?,” he said.

Warning of a two-tier system, he added: “My fear is that this will be paid for by a less good education and fewer teachers for all the other schools in the country.”