Community is split over school plan
PLANS to relocate a popular Stockport primary school have divided a community.
The St John’s CofE Primary School building in Heaton Mersey is no longer fit for purpose, and is to be rebuilt with a government grant.
The school sits on the site of a former brickworks, and later landfill, and is slowly subsiding, so the new school must be built elsewhere.
Stockport council is proposing to use land it owns at Priestnall Hey – a leafy common nearby popular with dog walkers and families.
Those in favour of the build fear the school will be forced to close if it can’t go ahead, and because other Heatons primary schools are already oversubscribed, youngsters will have to attend schools outside the area.
Residents who are against the plan say Priestnall Hey is a well-used community asset.
PLANS to relocate a popular Stockport primary school have divided a community.
The St John’s CofE Primary School building in Heaton Mersey is no longer fit for purpose, and is set to be rebuilt with the help of a government grant.
The school was built on the site of a former brick works, and later landfill, and is slowly subsiding, so the new school must be built elsewhere. Stockport council is proposing to use land it owns at Priestnall Hey – a leafy common nearby popular with dog walkers and families.
The land on which the school currently sits meanwhile, which is owned by the church, will become a new open public space, as part of a ‘land swap’ deal.
Those in favour of the build fear the longestablished school will be forced to close if it can’t go ahead, and because other Heatons primary schools are already oversubscribed, youngsters will have to attend schools outside the area.
But those against it say Priestnall Hey is a wellused community asset, and the land swap would not be ‘like for like’.
They cite the title deeds, which they say include a covenant stating that the land must not be used for anything other than an open public space.
Parent Claire Donoghue, whose daughter is a former pupil and whose son is in year two at St John’s, said: “The proposed new rebuild is not about greedy developers proposing luxury housing or a retail complex at the expense of the environment.
“If the school was forced to close its doors, the impact on the children and their families would be huge and it would be a very sad day indeed.”
Mary Griffiths James, whose great grandchild attends the school, added: “If this goes ahead, there will actually be a slight increase in the amount of open space.”
Parent Tracey Dore added: “The council would find other places for these 210 children, but it simply wouldn’t be around here. St John’s is a small, one form entry, family-orientated school with strong ties to the community.”
Meanwhile, resident Carol Tams, who is opposed to plans, said: “SMBC has shown a complete disregard for residents who use Priestnall Hey. If it were not for word of mouth and the power of social media we would not even have known about these proposals.
“SMBC have a duty of care to the children of St John’s School and it is their responsibility to find a suitable site for the new school, but that will not be on Priestnall Hey.”
Fellow campaigner Amanda Donovan said: “Of course St John’s needs a new school. The education of our children is vitally important. But that need has to be balanced with the right of local residents to enjoy the public open space of Priestnall Hey.”
Stephen Bell, head of commissioning school places at Stockport Council, said: “After a feasibility study over a long period of time, in August 2015 the Education Funding Agency, who are procuring a rebuild on behalf of the Department for Education, concluded that the existing site was not suitable for redevelopment due to instability caused by former landfill.
“The council was asked to provide an alternative site. Priestnall Hey is situated within both the parish boundary for St John’s as well as the school catchment area.
“Work to reduce the covenant on the site will include a four week consultation period that will commence shortly.
“In addition a formal planning application is expected to be submitted and both of these will allow the local community to make any representations they wish to.”