Parents living on a huge new housing estate in Gedling village have been left disappointed after plans for a primary school were scrapped. Nottinghamshire County Council said there was no longer any need for the 210-place school at Chase Farm and would ask developers Keepmoat to instead direct the money towards the expansion of secondary schools in the area.
The development at the former Gedling Colliery site, which will eventually have around 1,000 houses once completed, was expected to be delivered along with a primary school as part of a section 106 agreement. However the county council said pupil demand forecasts showed there would be a sufficient number of primary school places in the area.
It said a Keepmoat would be required to instead pay around £3.6million towards additional secondary school places in the area. John Clarke, leader of Gedling Borough Council, said he was "very disappointed" by the decision.
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Parents living on the estate also expressed their disappointment. Cathy Shum, who would have sent her three-year-old daughter, Elva Liu, to the school said: "Oh no really? That's really disappointing. If they had a good school here I would be more happy. I have to take the bus to get her to nursery. There's quite a lot of kids around here, it's so disappointing."
Lesley Bowman, 54-year-old carer who also has a three-year-old daughter, said: "I'm not surprised. It would've been really convenient, but it's the same as everything else - like the shops.
She said the school was part of the reason she moved in four years ago. "It's disappointing, I don't think they should say they have plans to do this and this and then not. We were told it would be a whole new estate with shops and a school, even the park is a bit disappointing."
Councillor Philip Owen, former chairman of the children and young people’s committee at the county council, said: “Obviously the pupil planning picture changes over time, particularly where there is new housing development and new families are moving into an area. That’s why officers diligently monitor the situation on ongoing basis. They have now identified a potential pressure on secondary school places in the future, but at the same time have identified that there is no current or projected need to develop a new primary school on the site, despite having reserved the option of building one if necessary.
"The proposal is therefore, quite sensibly, that instead of building a new primary school, those resources are diverted into creating further secondary school places, meaning there still won’t be a shortfall or any need for parents to be concerned.
Councillor Michael Payne, deputy leader of Gedling Borough Council and county councillor for Arnold North, said the decision was "bitterly disappointing" and "utterly unacceptable". He said: "In 2016 Nottinghamshire County Council made a promise to build a new primary school to sustain the housing development of 1,050 homes on Chase Farm in Gedling - it is unforgivable that the Conservative Cabinet at County Hall has now broken that promise to families in Gedling."
Councillor Tracey Taylor, cabinet member for children and families at the county council, added: “As we’ve explained on numerous occasions, pupil place planning demands are constantly evolving, with ebbs and flows between the primary and secondary phases. Officers are only permitted to seek developer contributions based on forecast needs at the point in time that a planning application is being considered.
"Assessments first made in 2016 and reviewed in 2020 were correct, and plans made accordingly. Likewise, in light of latest information regarding likely pupil place need, officers are making appropriate plans and corresponding with the developer and the borough council as part of this process.”
Keepmoat Homes has been approached for comment.
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