New school will be terrible eyesore

✒ GLOUCESTERSHIRE County Council came in very late with an application to build a secondary school at Leckhampton, after the Joint Core Strategy had been decided.

Their planning committee gave permission for this school, which is on the land that GCC owns – surely that cannot be right?

Because there are a few local supporters of the school, it appears that permission was given to develop it much against the wishes of the majority in the area who have been fighting development there for many years.

These supporters are now “up in arms” because an individual, who has always highly valued the Leckhampton lands, has instigated a judicial review (JR), which they are perfectly entitled to do.

School supporters must fully understand that there are a great number of people who live in the Leckhampton area who don’t want this school at any cost.

For sure, many of these school supporters “don’t give a fig” about the loss of precious fields and the major traffic concerns in the area.

They are fixated on one thing and that is to get this school built regardless of the environmental damage and infrastructure problems there will be.

This huge school has been planned on a very small piece of land surrounded by narrow country lanes with blind corners.

GCC Highways has given the green light for it to go ahead.

But it beggars belief how they will sort out the footpaths and cycleways that will be needed, let alone other structural problems that will be encountered.

Air pollution from the A46 traffic will be another major hazard for young people’s health when travelling to and from the school and, additionally, nothing has been done about the visibility of the school looking down from the Leckhampton escarpment – it will be a terrible eyesore, as is the nearlycompleted Redrow development.