School told it must lose its sports hall

U P %T O O N P S E L O R O E C F F D U T E D C S A SCHOOL has been told that its old sport hall must be demolished, despite a campaign to save it backed by two MPs, governors and the headteacher.

Politicians and staff at Mount Pleasant Primary School, Lockwood, have been working behind the scenes to force a re-think on plans to demolish a sports hall.

The school is undergoing a major rebuilding programme which will see the old hall replaced by a multipurpose main hall for dining and PE – but local politicians claim it won’t be big enough.

MPs Barry Sheerman and Jason McCartney have been lobbying for the old sports hall to be retained as the land it is on is not needed for the redevelopment.

Mr Sheerman said: “The school is trying to save it because it is very large and useful for both school and community purposes.”

He said the sports hall did require some maintenance but overall it was structurally sound.

Local councillor Andrew Cooper, who is also a school governor, said the replacement hall would be too small for such a wide range of uses.

He said retaining the old hall was supported by Kirklees Council, the school, governors and MPs.

However, the proposal has just been rejected by a Government education minister, Lord Nash, in a letter to Mr Sheerman.

Lord Nash told the Labour MP the condition of the sports hall, including a leaking roof, had previously been assessed as being unfit for retention and its poor state had been “one of the drivers behind the school being successful in its bid” for Priority School Building Programme funding.

The minister said the sports hall could not be retained as it was “surplus to requirements” and in “such a poor condition”.

Despite the setback, Mr Sheerman and Clr Cooper said they would continue the fight.

“They have knocked back the council, me and the MPs,” added Clr Cooper. “It’s heavy-handed government saying ‘these are the rules and you will follow them.’”

Clr Cooper has now called on the MPs to take the campaign “up the chain of command” to a more senior member of the government.

He said Kirklees Council was virtually powerless to act as the rebuilding programme wasn’t the authority’s project. Clr Cooper added: “I am calling on MPs to go to the education minister. We will never give up.”

A Kirklees Council spokesperson said: “The proposals for a newbuild school delivered by the Education Funding Agency were the subject of consultation with the school and the council in 2016. We believe that the new facilities will provide the school and its pupils with a modern, highquality and appropriate learning environment.”

The school’s headteacher was not available for comment.