Agenda item

Councillor Munro will propose and Councillor Stanley will second:

As a consequence of the significant house building to the north of Bishop’s Cleeve, the County Council has identified the need for an additional 3FE primary school in the village. The County Council has commissioned an Options Appraisal document which suggests extending the age range of Cleeve school to incorporate the additional primary school places and while the siting of the new school is not specifically disclosed, mention is made of land off Kayte Lane, on the south side of the village, used by Cleeve school as playing fields  and in the green belt. The County Council has said, at the time the Options Appraisal was commissioned, no viable alternative sites were available to allow it to meet its statutory duties within the resources available and it was not able to secure additional land for primary school provision as the individual planning applications in Bishop’s Cleeve did not justify the need for a school site

There are a number of concerns with this proposal:

1)    The potential site for a new school is at the opposite side of the village to where the need is. The new housing is north of the village and the proposed site is in the south of the village, close to the existing primary schools. The County Council policy B8 of the School Places Strategy 2018-2023 says that where the need for a new primary school arises from a new development, the new school should be provided within the development, with the  site ideally within walking distance of most of the development.  A site to the south of the village is as far from the new houses as it is possible to be in Bishop’s Cleeve.

2)    It is unlikely that children will walk to a school in the south of the village and the reality is that this will lead to more traffic in an already congested area. This is also contrary to the County Council’s endorsement of the Government’s declaration of a climate change emergency and need to reduce carbon emissions by 2050.

In view of the above the Council is asked to:

1)    Support the provision of adequate primary school places in Bishop’s Cleeve in line with the County  Council’s own policy that any such school should be within walking distance of most of the new developments in Bishop’s Cleeve.

2)    Investigate as a matter of urgency the suitability of sites in the area for local school provision.

3)    Work with the County Council and any other interested party  to find a solution that works for everyone. 

65.4           The Worshipful the Mayor referred to the Notice of Motion set out on the Agenda and indicated that, in accordance with the Rules of Procedure, it was necessary for the Council firstly to decide whether it wished to debate and determine the Motion at this evening’s meeting, or whether it wished to refer the Motion, without debate, to a Committee for consideration with authority either to make a decision on the matter or to bring a recommendation back to Council. Upon being put to the vote it was agreed that the Motion would be considered at the current meeting.

65.5           The Motion, as set out on the Agenda, was proposed and seconded.

65.6           The proposer of the Motion explained that the intention was to try and address issues with primary school provision in Bishop’s Cleeve which had arisen as a consequence of development in the area. The Member understood that education was a County Council responsibility but she felt that Tewkesbury Borough Council had a responsibility to help the County Council achieve the best for residents of the Borough. Bishop’s Cleeve had grown significantly in size in recent years with a lot of the new development being in the north of the village. There were three existing primary schools in the south and east all within 0.5 miles of each other; there was also a secondary school in the south. This meant that in the north there were no schools at all. The County Council had increased capacity in the existing primary schools but there had been an error in the calculations for school numbers which meant the area actually required another primary school for the amount of development. There were concerns that the same error could also have been made in other areas of the Borough which would need to be considered. The County Council had undertaken an options appraisal and this favoured a site known as land at Kayte Lane but this was also in the south side of the village which meant children as young as four years old would have no choice but to walk two miles to school every day. It was felt strongly that schools should be located within walking distance of new development and it was hoped that Tewkesbury Borough Council, working closely with the County Council, could achieve the best outcome for residents. The seconder of the Motion agreed with the comments made and felt that, whilst this was an urgent consideration for Bishop’s Cleeve, it was something that could potentially affect many other communities across the Borough. He also explained that the County Council’s own policy stated that schools should be in the heart of development which the suggested site clearly was not. In addition, the proposed site was an existing playing field and he felt this should remain a field. Air pollution and the climate emergency faced surely meant that children should be able to walk to school rather than having to be driven when it was really not necessary.

65.7           In a bid to gain cross-party support, the proposer and seconder indicated that they wished to withdrawn paragraph 2 of their Motion: “Investigate as a matter of urgency the suitability of sites in the area for local school provision”.

65.8           A Member felt the issue was one that was Boroughwide rather than just in Bishop’s Cleeve and, as such, he proposed an amendment to paragraph 1 that “the Council confirm its continued support for the provision of adequate school places across Tewkesbury Borough, noting the County Council’s own policy that any such primary schools should be within walking distance of most of the new developments”. The seconder of the original Motion expressed concern that this lost the sense of urgency which the Motion was intended to purvey in terms of the school provision in Bishop’s Cleeve and questioned whether the amendment could include a line that “priority be given to the most urgent settlements”.

65.9           It was suggested that a short adjournment would help ensure all parties were happy with the wording of the Motion.

65.10         The meeting resumed at 7.35pm with the same membership present.

65.11         The proposer and seconder of the original Motion, again in a bid to gain cross-party support, accepted the proposed amendment which became the substantive Motion for debate.

65.12         A Member welcomed the Motion and was pleased an agreement had been reached. He understood this was a specific issue in Bishop’s Cleeve but one which could affect the whole Borough. He also felt it was important to note that representatives at both the Borough Council and County Council were committed to seeing the provision of primary school education was appropriate for the needs of the community.  Another Member agreed with this view and felt the Motion brought genuine value to what Tewkesbury Borough Council could do to affect school provision given that it was ultimately a County Council responsibility. He felt it should be noted that the School Place Planning Strategy made reference to the closure/amalgamation of small village/rural schools and he felt the Council needed to be mindful of this as there may be a need to establish sustainable transport from outside of the immediate walking area.

65.13         Accordingly, it was

RESOLVED          That the amended Notice of Motion be AGREED as follows:

1.   The Council confirms its continued support for the provision of adequate school places across Tewkesbury Borough, noting the County Council’s own policy that any such primary schools should be within walking distance of most of the new developments.

2.   That the Council works with the County Council, and any other interested party, to find a solution that works for everyone.