Council chiefs shelve school revamp plans

GREENFIELD Primary School

PLANS to rebuild Greenfield Primary School have been put on hold because of insufficient consultation by education chiefs.

Oldham Council is revisiting its proposals for the provision of new primary school places across the Saddleworth West and Lees district, which affects the
school’s plans.

Rise

The move is being taken after a review of the process found there had not been a sufficient level of consultation with all local primary schools in that area.

Over the past two years the local authority has been investing across the borough as part of its response to the unprecedented rise in the number of children needing primary school places.

There is no suggestion that plans in other districts ­— which to date include the building of a new three form-entry primary school for Oldham, plus the expansion of places in Failsworth, Hollinwood, and Chadderton ­— are in question.

However, the existing plans for Saddleworth and Lees must now be reconsidered and that means a planning application recently submitted to demolish the existing Greenfield primary and build a school on the site’s playing fields has today been placed “on hold” and withdrawn.

Councillor Shoab Akhtar, cabinet member for education and skills, said: “As Oldham’s population continues to rise we’ve been working hard in partnership with schools across the borough to avoid any future shortfall
in places.

“However, having audited and reviewed the plans for the Saddleworth and Lees area we are not satisfied with the process undertaken to date.

“We must address the need for additional primary school spaces in the area but we must also do it in a legally sound and
fair manner.

Sorry

“I must stress that this news doesn’t mean that any children in that area will not get a primary school place in 2017-18 ­— it will simply mean we won’t have as many spare places as we expected to have by that time.

“But I am particularly sorry for the Greenfield Primary School community that we’ve had to put their plans on hold for now as part of this review.

“While this development is frustrating, what is vitally important is that we do the right thing now and act to ensure there are no potential challenges and unnecessary delays in the future.

“Our next steps will be to consult all primary schools and affected parties in the area looking at their expansion needs and the suitability of sites.

“A full report setting out the findings will then go back to Cabinet later this year and those options will, of course, include the Greenfield expansion plans already on the table.”

Mike Wood, head teacher at Greenfield Primary School, said: “We are obviously disappointed at this news but we fully understand the reasons behind it that have been explained to us.

“We must simply look forward now and focus on working with Oldham Council to resolve these matters as soon as possible.”