Five weeks to find school site - or £15m lost
Reporter: ERIN HEYWOOD
Date published: 23 April 2013
Saddleworth Parish Council
Councillors face a race to find land to build a new Saddleworth School - or lose a £15million Government subsidy.
Parish Council chairman Brian Lord last night revealed they have only five weeks to secure a site.
Parish councillors say a plan to build the school on land in front of an old pallet works at Huddersfield Road, Diggle would cause major problems for the village and for pupils.
Councillors now want to discuss the issue with schools minister Michael Gove. Councillor Lord - chairman of the school governors - said: “If we find a new site, work will start in the second quarter of 2015. But at this stage we have five weeks to tell the Government we have land to build on. If we can’t, we will be withdrawn from the scheme and won’t get a new school in Saddleworth.
“We have then committed 1,300 children to studying in a 100-year-old building, with 100-year-old facilities.
“The land at Diggle isn’t yet owned by Oldham Council, and we have been told we cannot have a new school on the old site. So the crucial bit is that Oldham Council buys some land.”
Four possible sites were investigated: “One was bought by somebody else while we were discussing it, and there have been problems with every other site,” said Mr Lord. “If anybody can suggest a better place than the pallet works, I’m sure the council would rip your arm off.”
But councillors are divided about the Diggle site: vice chairman Councillor Graham Sheldon said: “A new school on that site would destroy Diggle. The school should remain in Uppermill.”
And Councillor Neil Allsopp added: “There is no ideal solution. The present site is impractical, but the site at Diggle is too small. I think we have to accept the site at Diggle is the best we are going to get. I wish the current site was not impractical, but it is.”
Councillors agreed to write to Oldham Council and minister Michael Gove, expressing their concerns and inviting them to visit the site.
