Unlawful

SCHOOL campaign . . . members of the Save Diggle Action Group

IT'S back to the drawing board for Oldham Council after a High Court ruled that plans to build the controversial new £19.2million Saddleworth School in Diggle were unlawful.

The judgement is a victory for the campaigning group Save Diggle Action Group, which took the case to the Royal Courts of Justice in London last September.

The campaigners submitted that planning officers had overlooked some important provisions of the National Planning Policy Framework and were granted a judicial review hearing against Oldham Council, which took place at Manchester Civil Justice Centre in January.

The new school was planned to be built in Diggle at the former WH Shaw Pallet Works site, off Huddersfield Road, with a capacity for 1,500 pupils.

SDAG says it has never been against the building of a new school, but that it can and should be built on the current site in Uppermill.

The group said more than 3,300 people signed a petition calling for the school to remain in Uppermill.

Construction was originally set to begin in Easter, 2014, with the new school set to open in autumn, 2015.

Oldham Council and Saddleworth School have been working in partnership with the Education Funding Agency (EFA) managing the project for the Department for Education.

The council granted planning consent for the school's move last year despite a lot of objection from local residents.

Four applications were made to the council, seeking approval for demolition of the industrial buildings on the site, demolition of the listed link bridge, construction of the school and the associated facilities, and for a parental drop-off area. The latter, however, was rejected on grounds of highway safety and lack of parking.

SDAG put forward the case in January that councillors were "inadvertently being misled" about the EFA funding, which they believed was fixed at £19million, and other site locations were not viable.

But the council said the EFA set out in a report that the figure was capped. It estimated that rebuilding the school in Uppermill would cost more than £20 million, exceeding a £19,259,834 maximum budget.

Mr Justice Timothy Kerr ruled the council's decision as unlawful. He also said members of the council's planning committee had "never addressed" the potential harm to heritage assets.

He added: "The case for Uppermill to be preferred on heritage grounds has not yet been considered. I conclude that the plainly relevant question that was never addressed by members was whether it was worth incurring the additional financial, educational and construction burdens of keeping the Uppermill site, to avoid the substantial harm to the setting of the heritage asset."

The court heard the council accepted that re-developing the school on its existing site, while a more expensive option, would be "viable and affordable".

It also "now acknowledged" that moving the school to a disused industrial site in Diggle "would cause substantial damage to heritage assets".

The judge said planning committee members were "positively instructed to put the Uppermill site out of their minds".

Councillors were told that the current non-listed buildings on the Diggle site were not economically viable, hence why that site was selected.

The planning officer's original report in February, 2016, said that harms to listed buildings were deemed "less than substantial".

The planning permission has been quashed, which means Oldham Council will now have to urgently reconsider the school's future.

Councillor Amanda Chadderton, cabinet member for education and early years, said: "We note the judge's decision and are disappointed.

"Our top priority throughout this lengthy process has always been to deliver a fit-for-purpose educational facility for Saddleworth School.

"We are currently considering our next steps in consultation with our partners on this project, so it would be inappropriate to comment any further at this stage."

Matthew Millburn, head of Saddleworth School, said: "In a week when Saddleworth School has been designated as a National Support School it is so frustrating that once again the new building has been delayed by a technicality completely outside the control of those who work and learn at the school.

"The Saddleworth team is fantastic. We will of course make the most of what we have and the prestigious designation from the National College of Teaching and Leadership is further evidence of that.

"However, pupils and staff deserve more. They deserve to learn and work in a fit for purpose building.

"Everyone recognises that the current building is falling apart. This further delay means yet another generation of children will miss out through no fault of their own.

"I would like to thank parents, the council, the Education Funding Agency, local partner primary schools and not least the children for their faith, patience and determination to get the new school built.

"We will of course support the council and I will be pushing to get the job done. I get asked on a daily basis, 'Sir, will we still be here when the new school opens?' I only wish I could answer that question with a level of certainty.

"This whole saga has gone on far too long. We need to get the new school built and give the pupils the facilities that they deserve."