Funding for new school approved
FUNDING for a new multi-million pound school earmarked for the site of a former fire station has been approved.
Pupils and staff at Morpeth First School look set to move to a new building on the site of the old Morpeth Fire Station in Loansdean.
Northumberland County Council’s cabinet gave the £6.85m facility the green light, which is expected to be completed by September 2019.
The news follows the controversial collapse of plans in May to build 200 houses, shops and a school on the site of the council’s headquarters.
Under the previous Labour administration, the council gave the out-of-town development the green light as it was preparing to move from County Hall to a new £32m headquarters in Ashington.
But the proposals caused uproar in a community, prompting mass opposition and waves of protests.
After eight months of tireless campaigning, The Home Group pulled out of the scheme citing a change in “current market conditions” and the plans were scrapped.
The Conservatives then became the largest party on the council after the local elections in May and pledged to stay at County Hall.
However, figures obtained by the Chronicle revealed almost £2.1m of taxpayers’ cash was wasted after the council paid its development arm Arch to facilitate the move to Ashington.
During the cabinet meeting, the council said the new school will be based on the same design from the previous proposals.
The school is looking to move because the existing building at Goosehill is more than 100 years old and is on a restricted site without playing fields and lacks the opportunity for expansion.
Further consultation on the revised site will now take place before a planning application is submitted early next year.
The council’s deputy leader Coun Wayne Daley, who is also cabinet member for children’s services, said: “We will be working closely with local parents, residents and the wider Morpeth community to consult on the new school development.
“Education is a priority for us and we are committed to deliver the best possible educational environment for the young people of Northumberland.”
Education is a priority for us and we are committed to deliver the best possible educational environment