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12
Sept
Knaresborough misses out in a tale of two schools
In 2020, North Yorkshire Council announced plans to open two primary schools to serve new housing estates in Northallerton and Knaresborough.
Last week, the Northallerton-based council announced ‘£7 million state-of-the-art’ Oakbridge Church of England Primary School in Northallerton had welcomed it first pupils.
Cllr Annabel Wilkinson, the council’s executive member for education, learning and skills, enthused in a press release:
“I’m extremely proud of the work and commitment that has gone into creating this impressive new, purpose-built school that will provide current and future generations with excellent facilities and quality learning environments.”
By contrast, there is no sign of the £6 million school supposed to serve children on the new Manse Farm estate in Knaresborough. No shovels have hit the ground and the council has been silent.
News of the Northallerton school opening prompted the Stray Ferret to seek a progress report on the situation in Knaresborough.
The last update came in December last year when Amanda Newbold, the council’s assistant director for education and skills, said:
Progress on the school site has been postponed due to an overhead electric cable that runs across where the new school is due to be built. This is also delaying the developer to some degree.
A sub-station needs to be built on the land and the cable diverted before the school site can be transferred from Taylor Wimpey to us. The negotiations for the sub-station development are continuing with three of the parties involved confirming agreement to the legal terms. All of these matters need to be concluded before the site transfer of the school land can begin.
We have no control over these matters, but we continue to put a great deal of effort into encouraging the third parties to resolve them. While this is disappointing, it does not change our commitment to the delivery of the school project.
Three months later, Ms Newbold told councillors the earliest the school could open was September 2026.
After waiting a week for an update, the Stray Ferret was told by a council spokesperson it had nothing to add to Ms Newbold’s statement in December other than:
Northern Power is continuing to work with the developers on this matter and they have confirmed that it is unlikely that the overhead line will be dismantled before winter 2024.
The council added it remained “committed to the delivery of the school project in Knaresborough”.
A council image of how the Manse Farm school would look.
'Very unfair'
The two schools were supposed to be funded by section 106 legal agreements signed by housebuilders to compensate for the impact of their developments.
The Knaresborough school, run by Elevate Multi Academy Trust, would have an initial capacity for 210 pupils that could expand to 420 pupils.
The mood of the councillors in the two towns could hardly have been more different this week.
Cllr Steve Watson, who represents Northallerton North and Brompton division, added: “Oakbridge Primary will not only have big educational benefits for all pupils, but will also be a valuable asset for the local community. This is another key piece of the overall North Northallerton development.”
Cllr Matt Walker
Cllr Matt Walker, who represents Knaresborough West and is also a Knaresborough town councillor, is somewhat less content.
He said the town council met Taylor Wimpey in April and was told the legal agreement was due to be signed imminently, adding:
That’s the last we heard. It seems very unfair that residents of Knaresborough don’t have a new primary school that they were promised yet those in Northallerton do. With all the extra houses it’s important that infrastructure including schools are built at the same time as new houses.
North Yorkshire Council has yet again let Knaresborough residents down. Children’s education is hugely important and I’m urging North Yorkshire Council to get on and build the school our children deserve.
The Stray Ferret will continue to press the council for updates on Knaresborough’s forgotten school.
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