Schools block ‘letting down children’

Last night’s full Oldham Council meeting
LIBERAL Democrat and Conservative Councillors were accused of letting down generations of Oldham children by failing to push through Oldham's school rebuilding plans.

Shadow Children and Families spokesman Glenys Butterworth said £6.2 million had been spent preparing for BSF and a further £11 million has been spent buying up land and carrying out demolitions.

Councillors unanimously backed Councillor Butterworth’s call to write to the Government, lobbying for the whole programme to be re-instated, and calling for a quick decision.

But there was still a 30-minute debate with the Liberal Democrats accusing Labour of failing to get their plans together when they were in power.

Labour councillors accused the Liberal Democrats of not doing enough quickly enough to push the schools’ plans forward when they took power two years ago.

Councillor John Battye said they had dragged their feet. He told council leader Howard Sykes: “I think this council will remember BSF as the Big Sykes Failure.”

But Councillor Lynne Thompson said Councillor Butterworth’s claim that the Labour programme was well under way with proposals already agreed and contracts negotiated was wrong. She said it was fatally flawed.

Councillor Jim McMahon attacked Tory leader Jack Hulme for saying that although plans for the new Roman Catholic secondary school on Broadway, and work at North Chadderton might be saved, he didn’t think other parts of the BSF scheme would go ahead. He added: “People in Oldham have not voted for second best. We should be united to fight for the full programme.”