Future of planned school in balance

EDUCATION: The future of new primary to tackle a school places “black hole” in Yorkshire’s largest city hangs in the balance after a senior councillor admitted there was a chance the Government could pull out of the project.

THE FUTURE of a new primary to tackle a school places “black hole” in Yorkshire’s largest city hangs in the balance after a senior councillor admitted there was a chance the Government could pull out of the project.

Councillor Lisa Mulherin, executive member for children and families at Leeds City Council, revealed she has asked officers to look for an “alternative permanent solution” amid fears the agencies involved could “wash their hands” of the scheme completely.

Earlier this month The Yorkshire Post revealed that the Government’s Education and Skills Funding Agency (EFSA), the body that had been in charge of Roundhay Park Primary School, is handing responsibility over to the local authority to move the project forward itself.

But while crunch talks are continuing, with the city council attempting to establish exactly what this means in terms of funding, Coun Mulherin expressed fears the project could fall through, as the authority could not afford to take it forward. She said: “We completely understand why parents in the Roundhay area are concerned. We share their frustration.

“I have asked officers to look at creative and innovative ways of delivering a permanent solution for school places in the Roundhay area, should the Government wash their hands of the project completely. There is a sense they may walk away from it.”

However, Coun Mulherin promised parents that although the council’s hands were tied when it came to delivering a new school, “quality places” would still be provided.

She said: “We will not walk away from the parents of Roundhay. We will deliver good-quality learning places for children.

“It can’t be right that central Government have got the monopoly over school building and when things get too difficult for them, they then leave it to the local authority to pick up the pieces. We are already overspent on our budget.”

Coun Mulherin said she expected to know more by autumn.

Damian Nicholls, a member of the campaign group Fair Access, said the council also had to take some responsibility as it had failed to find a suitable site.

“The next few months are make or break to be honest. If it falls through, I have no idea what the solution will be,” he said.

Ministers last year gave a new free school the go-ahead to open this September, but there have been issues with the preferred location. A source told The Yorkshire Post that the EFSA had supported two sites – including land off a nearby ring road – but the council had deemed them unsuitable.

It said the authority then consulted on four sites, including the two originally put forward by the EFSA, before suggesting that the ring road site was the most likely to secure planning.

The source said given the time spent on the process, and the fact the council owns the land, the EFSA believed the authority was in the best position to secure planning, which is why it would only provide funding if the council agreed to self-delivery.

Meanwhile, a survey has found that nearly a quarter of parents have moved house to be in their desired school catchment area.

Some 24 per cent of parents with school-age children have either already bought or rented a new property to secure an address near where they want their child to be educated, Santander Mortgages found. In Yorkshire 33 per cent of parents have bought or rented a home to be in a school catchment area, paying on average a premium of £15,800.

There is a sense [the Government] may walk away from it. Councillor Lisa Mulherin, executive member for children and families at Leeds City Council.