Issue - meetings

To consider a report on the proposed expansion of Wheelock Primary School following further consideration of the information and comments received during the consultation period.

The Cabinet Member gave further consideration to the proposed expansion of Wheelock Primary School in the light of the comments received during the consultation period.

At the meeting of 3^rd December, the Cabinet Member had deferred a decision  on the publication of statutory notices until 17^th December to allow more time for consideration of the large number of responses that had been received at the end of the consultation period and to allow more time to consider the rationale for the proposal and the objections received from nearby schools.

The report detailed the responses received and the grounds given by respondents for supporting or objecting to the proposal. It also set out the rationale for the proposal.

At the meeting, the Cabinet Member invited comments and questions from members of the public. In addition, Councillors S Corcoran and G Merry were afforded the opportunity to speak as local ward members.

A matter of particular concern was whether any other schools in the Sandbach area were likely to be closed as a result of the Wheelock expansion. Officers commented that given the pressures for additional school places in the Sandbach area, there were no plans to close any schools and that if anything, the Council would be looking to expand local schools. At the same time, Officers confirmed that the Council would not be seeking to encourage developers to provide new schools in the Sandbach area. The Cabinet Member supported these comments.

The Cabinet Member emphasised that the expansion proposals were being driven by parent choice and that the Council had to put the capacity in place to meet that choice.

Having considered further the views expressed during the consultation period and at the meeting, the Cabinet Member was minded once again to defer a decision in order to allow a further period of consultation on possible alternative solutions. The consultation period would run for two weeks in early January. In addition, the Cabinet Member would make a further visit to local schools. The Cabinet Member hoped that local schools would use this opportunity to consult among themselves with a view to putting forward possible solutions. She sought schools’ support and guidance and asked that they worked with her.

RESOLVED

That the Cabinet Member for Children and Family Services defers a decision on the request to publish a statutory notice detailing the proposed expansion of Wheelock Primary School in order to allow a further two weeks’ consultation on possible alternative solutions to the increasing demand for places in the Sandbach area.