north yorkshire county council Archives - Page 62 of 96

In depth: Bleak future for Harrogate district rural schools?

Since the turn of the year, it has been announced that two primary schools in the Harrogate district will close.

Both schools — Kell Bank near Masham and Baldersby St James between Ripon and Thirsk — are in rural areas.

Kell Bank closed in summer and if Baldersby’s closure goes ahead as planned, it will be the first academy in North Yorkshire to shut.

Both decisions were attributed to low pupil numbers. But a closer look at the issue reveals a deeper problem in rural communities in our district.

Drop in pupil numbers

North Yorkshire is home to 356 state schools — of which 303 are primary, 43 are secondary and 10 are special schools.

Although most schools in the Harrogate district are in towns and cities, such as Ripon, Harrogate, Knaresborough, Boroughbridge, Pateley Bridge and Masham, some are in more remote parts.

Declining pupil numbers in these rural areas has led to questions about the ongoing viability of schools.

Kell Bank, which was run by North Yorkshire County Council, closed in August.

Pupil numbers at Kell Bank Primary School before its closure. Data: NYCC.

The school, which was celebrating 200 years of education at the time, had capacity to teach 50 pupils but just six on the register. Three year groups had no children in them.

The number of pupils had declined from 39 in 2014.

By comparison, nearby Masham Church of England School in Masham town centre had 121 pupils, some of which were out of its catchment area.

It’s a similar picture at Baldersby, which has only 22 pupils.

Hope Sentamu Learning Trust, the academy trust in charge, says numbers “show no prospect of improving for many years ahead” and the school should therefore close.

The figures for Baldersby St James since 2015. The 2021 number has since dropped to 22. Data: NYCC.

Pupil numbers at Baldersby have fluctuated and recovered to 46 in 2017 before declining again.

In both cases, the schools have been victims of changes to population demographics that have seen rural areas become less busy while more people live in towns and cities.

This raises difficult issues for families in rural areas thinking about where to educate their children.

‘A highly charged political issue’

A report by North Yorkshire County Council’s Rural Commission this year laid bare the problems facing rural schools.

According to the paper, eight schools have closed in the county over the past three years – most of which were in rural areas.

The commission said the “continuing fall” in the rural population was the “fundamental challenge” facing small rural schools.

It said:

“While the number of elderly people living in the county continues to increase, the number of working-age families, with young children, continues to fall.

“This results in a significant surplus capacity in many of the small rural schools because there are simply not enough families with primary aged children living in rural communities.

“The cost of the rural housing market discourages young families from living in rural areas.”

The challenge in attracting younger families is compounded by the fact that parents are also thinking more carefully about where to send their children to school.

Department for Education guidance says a primary school aged child should be sent to a school no longer than 45 minutes away from home.

The rural commission report said parents were choosing not to send their children to a local school and instead opting for one further away “because it offers a better-quality education”.

It said:

“An expert on the subject noted that sometimes journey times are longer because children are going to schools other than their local one because of parental preference.”

The sentiment was echoed by Jacqui Palmer, executive headteacher at Sharow Church of England Primary School.

She said:

“Over many years rural life has become different.

“In our village, there is no pub and the post office is only open on a morning.”

Ms Palmer added that it had become difficult for villages to attract younger families.

Impact on communities

The closure of rural schools runs deep in communities.

As noted by the rural commission, the decision to shut a village schools often prompts campaigns to save them.

This occurred in the Harrogate district when within days of the academy trust’s announcement, a group of parents and villagers set up the Save Baldersby St James Primary School campaign.

The group has set up a social media account to help the fight and called on Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi to reconsider the decision.

For the group, the closure would see an end to a school which has served the community since 1850.

Sally Muir, a spokesperson for Save Baldersby St James Primary School, said in a statement:

“In an era where running costs are elevated above all other criteria, it is a shame that a school with both history and potential that has long served the community is now earmarked for closure.”

In response to the difficulties facing schools, the rural commission has called for the Department for Education to revise its national funding formula to support rural schools, in particular spare secondary schools.

It also believes that the formula needs to take into account “the quality of rural roads as well as distance”.

The commission has also backed a “rural stipend” for teachers salaries in order to encourage more teachers into rural schools, but also to bring more younger families into those areas.

But time will tell whether there is the will to act, or whether more cherished schools in remote parts of England’s largest county face uncertain futures.

Harrogate’s Victoria Road scheme delayed due to bin wagon concerns

A scheme to stop vehicles in Harrogate turning from Victoria Road onto Otley Road has been delayed because bin wagons will find it difficult to turn.

North Yorkshire County Council was due to introduce the initiative before the end of September as an 18-month trial to improve safety for cyclists using the forthcoming Otley Road cycle route.

A barrier would have been placed at the junction, and one-way only and no entry signs installed.

However, the scheme has been delayed while the council draws up a new design that accommodates turning bin wagons. The council does not know when the project will now be introduced.

Melisa Burnham, highways area manager at the council, said:

“The original design needs to be amended to accommodate the safe turning and manoeuvring of bin wagons and making sure the proposed one-way filter lane doesn’t have any other impacts on waste services.

“We anticipated this design stage to be concluded by the end of September.

“We are currently working with Harrogate Borough Council to agree a revised design before the introduction of the 18-month trial of a one-way filter lane on Victoria Road.

The council wants the Victoria Road scheme to join up with other active travel schemes in the town, including the nearby Beech Grove low traffic neighbourhood, the scheduled new cycle path on Victoria Avenue, and the Harrogate Station Gateway project.

Construction on the much-delayed Otley Road cycle route began last month.

There are still uncertainties over when the project will be completed due to negotiations with the government and the Duchy of Lancaster – the landowners of the Stray – over the use of grass verges protected by law.

Call for government to reconsider Harrogate district school closure

Senior North Yorkshire county councillors have urged Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi to reconsider a decision to close a Harrogate district primary school.

North Yorkshire County Council’s executive has agreed to appeal to Mr Zahawi to give Baldersby St James Primary School, between Ripon and Thirsk, a 12-month stay of execution just three years after it became an academy and five years after the authority spent £400,000 of taxpayers’ money creating new classrooms.

A meeting of the council’s executive heard the Hope Sentamu Learning Trust had successfully applied to close the school next August. Councillors were told if the closure goes ahead the school would become the first academy in the county to close.

A spokesman for the trust said low pupil numbers “show no prospect of improving for many years ahead”, with predictions for demand for school places showing a steady decline until 2031/32.

The trust has said the reason for its decision was that the school currently had 22 pupils in two classes, one for key stage one and the other for key stage two. Some year groups have just one student

Helen Winn, chief executive of the trust, has said potential options, including speaking to other local multi-academy trusts, had been examined, but none were practically viable.

She said:

“Due to the low intake at Baldersby St James, it has proved impossible to deliver the broad, balanced curriculum the children deserve.”

The announcement comes just months after the North Yorkshire Rural Commission called for action to halt rural school closures, highlighting that children who attend small rural schools achieve better educational outcomes than urban children.

The meeting was told only nine children from the school’s catchment area were attending Baldersby St James, and numerous parents had taken their children elsewhere for many years, so the prospect of closure was “a consequence of parental choice”.

Parents campaign to save school

However, some parents and residents are battling the move, saying the school is a crucial community asset and that the decision was made behind closed doors before the school’s viability could be publicly examined.

Senior councillors said they felt it would be “very premature” to close the school given the exhaustive lengths the authority had recently gone to in an attempt to keep village schools open.

They highlighted how the school’s financial situation remained unclear as it was an academy, and said a lot of consultation should be undertaken before the doors of the grade II listed Victorian building close for a final time.

They agreed the closure should be delayed for 12 months to enable a credible business plan to be established.

The authority’s leader, Cllr Carl Les, said it seemed “perverse” that the council was being asked to endorse the closure of a school that it would not have considered for closure as it was already maintaining village schools with fewer pupils.

Cllr Patrick Mulligan, the council’s education executive member, said the council was powerless to stop the closure as the decision would ultimately be made by the Schools Commissioner and Mr Zahawi.

He said there were sufficient school places in the area for Baldersby St James pupils to go elsewhere should the school close.

Improving county bus services an ‘enormous challenge’, says transport boss

Improving bus services with more regular and reliable journeys across Harrogate and North Yorkshire will be an “enormous challenge”, the county’s transport boss has said.

Cllr Don Mackenzie, executive member for access at North Yorkshire County Council, made the statement on Tuesday when the authority approved its £116 million Bus Service Improvement Plan, which aims to boost passenger numbers and cut car use.

The plan asks for £116 million of government cash over the next eight years to fund support for existing and new services, a simpler ticketing system, better information on journeys and other measures.

The aim is for services to cover the whole of England’s largest county – something Cllr Mackenzie said will be an “enormous challenge”.

He said:

“Bus services are very important to us – we as a council spend over £24 million on buses to get our pupils to schools.

“We spend £1.5 million every year subsidising rural bus services, which are not commercially viable and would not run without us.

“We also spend over £7 million a year on providing 127,000 bus passes for free travel for people because of age or disability, or because they are carers.

“But the challenge we have today to provide regular and sustainable bus services throughout the vast geography that North Yorkshire County Council covers with its sparse population is enormous.

“That is why I welcome the national bus strategy.”

Under the government’s bus strategy, £3 billion is to be made available to make buses across the country cheaper and easier to use.

It is hoped these targets will be also met through so-called enhanced partnerships where councils agree to infrastructure improvements in return for better services from bus companies.

Other proposals in North Yorkshire County Council’s improvement plan include half-price fares for job seekers and apprentices, a new website with information on services and more zero-emission buses.

Pannal park and ride

There is also talk of a park and ride scheme in Harrogate, which officials are looking into but have yet to bring forward any detailed proposals for.

There are two potential sites for this: land near Pannal Golf Club and another site near Buttersyke Bar roundabout, south of the village.

The Harrogate district has more zero tail-pipe emission buses than most places in North Yorkshire and it is hoped more will be provided through a £20m bid for government cash.

If approved, the cash will be used to make all of Harrogate Bus Company’s fleet zero-emissions, with 39 new buses coming to the district.

Alex Hornby, chief executive of Transdev in the north of England, which owns Harrogate Bus Company, has expressed his support for the bid, saying it comes at a time when he believes Harrogate is “ready to embrace more sustainable forms of travel”.

Mr Hornby is also one of several business leaders who will speak at a net-zero conference at Harrogate Convention Centre on Friday when the vision of a greener transport future will be high on the agenda.

Another aim of the improvement plan is to expand the rollout of the council’s on-demand bus service, YorBus, which allows app users to book and track services in Ripon, Bedale and Masham.

There have, however, been questions over why the service has been hailed a “success” after it emerged it has only attracted about three passengers per hour.

In response to this, Cllr Mackenzie said the council would listen to all feedback, but added the number of those praising the service exceeded the number of critics.

He said:

“We may or may not introduce it elsewhere, but so far the signs are very good.”

Harrogate businesses call for meeting to discuss £10.9m Station Gateway

Business representatives in Harrogate have called for face-to-face meetings to be held to discuss the latest plans for the £10.9 million Station Gateway project.

North Yorkshire County Council announced yesterday that people will be able to hear more about the plans and ask questions at two hour-long online events on October 21 and 28.

People will also have the chance to fill in a consultation survey.

But businesses say such a key decision, which could have a major long-term impact on the town by pedestrianising James Street and reducing traffic on Station Parade to single lane, requires a large scale physical meeting everyone can attend.

Richard Norman, owner of town centre jewellers Fogal and Barnes, said:

“It’s vitally important for the whole town that people can get together and have a proper adult conversation and decide what’s best.

“This scheme is not just about environmental issues — there are challenges around jobs too.”

Richard and Mona Norman

Mr Norman is also managing director of marketing organisation Brand Yorkshire, which held a conference last week in Harrogate. He said:

“Everyone said it was far better meeting face-to-face. All the online meetings I’ve seen have been too clinical. You can’t read body language.”

“Having an actual meeting is the correct thing to do for such a big issue.

“I can’t tell what impact this will have on my business until I see the full proposal. My concern is they will try to railroad it through, which is why we should have an actual meeting.”

David Simister, chief executive of Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce, agreed and said it would invite Don Mackenzie, executive member for access at North Yorkshire County Council, to its November meeting to discuss the proposals with businesses.

Mr Simister said:

“It’s important that our elected members hear what businesses have to say about it.”

Project team to meet in Harrogate

Asked to respond to the lack of notice of physical meetings, a North Yorkshire County Council spokesman said there would be opportunities to discuss concerns directly with the project team in a unit in the Victoria Shopping Centre.

“Online events enable as many people as possible to attend and ensure covid safety.

“However, during the consultation there will be opportunities for members of the public and businesses to speak to the project team face-to-face at a dedicated unit within the Victoria Shopping Centre.

“These will take place on Wednesday 27 October, the morning of Friday 29 October, Monday 1 November (for businesses only) and Friday 5 November.

“Businesses in the area will be contacted with details of how to book a slot for 1 November. In addition, the project team will be speaking to businesses at an open chamber of trade event on 8 November.”

New plans yet to be revealed

Cllr Mackenzie said yesterday the council had listened to feedback from previous consultations on the initial plans and “taken that response into account in the further development of the designs”.

But details of the changes are not yet available.

Cllr Mackenzie told the Stray Ferret:

“The exact details of the proposals and designs for all three gateway schemes, which are going forward for public consultation from next Monday, will be published online in the next few days.

The Harrogate scheme is one of three projects worth a combined £42m in Harrogate, Skipton and Selby paid for by the Leeds City Region Transforming Cities Fund, which encourages cycling and walking.

They are being delivered in partnership by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, North Yorkshire County Council, Harrogate Borough Council, Craven District Council and Selby District Council.

Details of the online consultation, which runs until November 12, will be available from Monday at www.yourvoice.westyorks-ca.gov.uk/northyorkshire

Following this consultation, a final business case will be prepared before approval is sought to deliver the schemes.

It is anticipated that work in Harrogate will begin by mid-2022 and be completed by March 2023.

First glimpse of how Harrogate will look after £10.9m transformation

Here’s how Harrogate’s Station Parade and James Street will look under the proposed £10.9m Station Gateway project.

North Yorkshire County Council today published an artist’s impression of the area that will be most affected by the ambitious scheme.

It shows a new cycle lane alongside a filter lane to Station Bridge on a section of a single lane Station Parade and a traffic-free, pedestrianised James Street.

The image was published in the run-up to further consultation on the scheme starting next week.

Plans to reduce Station Parade to single lane traffic and pedestrianise James Street have divided opinion.

Many people welcome the move to encourage cycling and walking but some businesses are concerned about the loss of parking spaces and the impact on trade.

Encourage sustainable travel

The Harrogate scheme is one of three projects worth a combined £42m in Harrogate, Skipton and Selby.

They are being delivered in partnership by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, North Yorkshire County Council, Harrogate Borough Council, Craven District Council and Selby District Council.

A statement by North Yorkshire County Council said today the projects would “transform each travel gateway by boosting public transport, encouraging sustainable travel and upgrading the public realm for residents and visitors alike”.

It added feedback from the earlier consultation into the Harrogate scheme “had been taken into account when looking at the options for one lane in Station Parade and pedestrianisation of James Street, as well as the detailed layout of Station Square and the balance of parking, loading and taxi space provision within the gateway area”.

North Yorkshire County Councillor Don Mackenzie, the executive member for access, said:

“We listened to the feedback from the consultations earlier this year and have taken that response into account in the further development of the designs.

“Now, we are keen for residents to tell us how well these revised designs meet the objectives of opening up the towns’ gateways to facilitate and encourage cycling and walking and improve the quality and sense of identity in these locations.

“People can also help to define the final look of the schemes by giving their views on such details as benches and planting.”

Councillor Phil Ireland, Harrogate Borough Council’s cabinet member for carbon reduction and sustainability, said:

“We want to ensure this multi-million pound Transforming Cities Fund project provides an exciting and attractive gateway to Harrogate town centre that encourages people to use sustainable travel options and helps us achieve our carbon reduction goals.”

Work due to begin in summer

The schemes are being delivered with money from the Leeds City Region Transforming Cities Fund, which aims to “transform gateways to towns and cities across the region by making it easier to walk, cycle and use public transport”.

Online events will take place from 6pm until 7pm on October 21 and October 28 for the Harrogate scheme.

Details of the online consultation, which runs until November 12, will be available from Monday at www.yourvoice.westyorks-ca.gov.uk/northyorkshire

Following this consultation, a final business case will be prepared before approval is sought to deliver the schemes.

It is anticipated that work will begin by mid-2022 and be completed by March 2023.

North Yorkshire combined authority could be created by 2023, says report

A combined authority for North Yorkshire and York could be created by 2023, according to a report.

Combined authorities bring together multiple councils to make joint decisions. Under devolution, they are chaired by a directly-elected mayor.

Ten have been created so far, including Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire and Tees Valley, whose respective mayors are Andy Burnham, Tracy Brabin and Ben Houchen.

A report by York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership reveals that informal talks with government had indicated the county’s first mayoral elections could be expected in May 2024 and a combined authority could be created during the 2022/23 financial year.

It says that creating a combined authority “as soon as practically possible” would position York and North Yorkshire for a share of the government’s post-Brexit UK Shared Prosperity Fund, which replaces EU structural funds and aims to reduce inequalities.

According to the report, other potential benefits of launching a combined authority before 2024 include developing investment projects, making them ready for approval when the mayor is elected.

It comes as local authority leaders are to consider revising their requests from government as part of a devolution deal for North Yorkshire and York.

‘Devolution is a key part of levelling up’

Cllr Carl Les, leader of North Yorkshire County Council, said there would be no point in putting forward propositions that have not got a chance of success because they did not meet government criteria.

He said:

“I think it makes imminent sense to make sure we are aligned to the latest government thinking on their investment priorities and also to identify where there are existing funding streams that we may want to tie into, like Bus Back Better, rather than negotiate with the Treasury directly for bus infrastructure funding.

“We need to be getting on with things, especially following Boris Johnson’s conference speech, as devolution is a key part of levelling up.”

Meanwhile, the paper calls for the introduction of an ask to stimulate town centre development, including Enterprise Zone-type tax relief.

The report says:

“We will work together across local authorities, the LEP, Historic England and Homes England in a groundbreaking way to deliver an innovative transformation programme at scale across our town and city centres.

“This will bring historic and under-utilised buildings and spaces back into productive use, help to remodel and revitalise our town and city centres, and provide the flexibility for local priorities to come to the fore.”

Harrogate town council: could it run Harrogate Convention Centre?

From the running of Harrogate Convention Centre to bin collections, the district’s public services will change in 18 months when devolution kicks in.

One of the major questions confronting Harrogate in 2023 will be what assets it wants to retain control of.

North Yorkshire County Council, which successfully bid for the new unitary council model, has promised “double devolution”.

That means a town council will be able to bid for assets — even though this may see council tax precepts hike up.

One of the Harrogate district’s biggest assets is its convention centre. Harrogate Borough Council has long sold it as an economic benefit to the town.

But it soon could become an economic vehicle which is no longer controlled locally.

HCC as an economic asset

In April 2023, a process known as “vesting day” will be held. This will see assets of all seven district councils moved to the control of North Yorkshire Council, the proposed name of the new unitary authority.

Among those which will be transferred is Harrogate Convention Centre.

The HCC has for a decade been sold as a £60 million benefit to the district – though this dropped to £35 million according to minutes from a council meeting held in December 2019.

An economic impact summary used to assess the value of the HCC in 2016/17.

With the HCC no longer in the district’s control, the question becomes what will its future be and what role will it play under the unitary council?

North Yorkshire Council officials will have to decide whether it is a strategic asset to them or not.

The new authority will have its own tourism and economic agenda, which the HCC may be included in.

However, the council will also have to factor in assets in other districts, including Scarborough, Richmondshire and Craven, and have to decide whether to retain control of the HCC after 2023.

Harrogate Borough Council, which will no longer exist in 2023, has long felt that an arms length approach to running the centre is the best approach. It has put public money into the HCC and has since planned a £47 million renovation of the site.

In its annual report in 2019, the council said:

“We are responding to the challenges of the changing nature of the conference industry by redeveloping the Harrogate Convention Centre site.

“The facility contributes around £55 million a year to the local economy and has an important role to play in the district.”

However, the HCC is one of only two conference centres to be run by a local council. The other is Brighton Centre.

The unitary council may feel that the operating model of the HCC needs to change.

Town council control?

Given the scale of the asset and the uncertainty over how a unitary authority based elsewhere in the county will treat it, the question then becomes whether the HCC can be controlled locally?

Should the county council’s “double devolution” agenda come to fruition, a Harrogate authority could bid for control the HCC.

But, given that town councils elsewhere have had to significantly hike up their council tax precepts to pay for modest assets, it may be a tall order for an authority with fewer resources to handle.

Jonathan Webb, senior research fellow at the think tank IPPR North, told the Stray Ferret that any council-run public assets needed to benefit the wider area.

He was critical of the government’s “patchwork” devolution agenda, but added that some services are better run by larger authorities.

Mr Webb said:

“Different authorities will have different systems and I think part of the problem is that the public is not aware of how it works.

“The challenge of creating this new council is it is an extremely large area. The largest at the moment is Cornwall.”

Mr Webb added that the question for the unitary council is whether it can run services in Harrogate better or not.

“Does the unitary deliver anything better. Does it give them more resources or does it affect it?”

County council considers return to face-to-face meetings

North Yorkshire County Council officials are to consider making councillors return to face-to-face meetings.

Authority bosses are considering the move despite online meetings leading to councillors claiming 131,338 miles fewer miles a year in expenses.

The county council is among a small number of local authorities which is continuing to hold its public decision-making meetings and debates online following the easing of pandemic restrictions.

The regulations which allowed virtual committee meetings to make decisions is no longer in force and the council’s leadership has repeatedly said it wants flexibility to hold some meetings online and others in person.

However, the government has given no indication whether it would support fresh legislation to enable local authorities to decide how they hold their meetings.

The council has calculated the pandemic measure led to 131,338 miles less mileage being claimed by councillors, saving £55,221, and an estimated 668 fewer working days being spent travelling to meetings.

The authority, which is working towards becoming carbon neutral by 2030, has concluded resulting annual carbon dioxide emissions savings of online meetings add up to nearly 37 tonnes – the equivalent of taking about 70 cars off the road.

Nevertheless, it is understood some leading councillors are unhappy with continuing to burden the authority’s chief executive, Richard Flinton, with the responsibility for all decisions, particularly ones that are politically sensitive.

An officer’s report to the executive will say that it will be up to the executive to make a recommendation to a meeting of the full council in November.

It says:

“The county council has a leadership role to play. As such, there is a question as to whether, as part of a return to more normal, pre- pandemic ways of living and working, the council should be leading by example and hold committee meetings in person once again.”

The issue has come under the spotlight just two weeks after the Government’s Covid-19 Response: Autumn and Winter Plan 2021 was published, which stated if the NHS comes under sustained pressure the government would advise people to work from home.

Upper Dales Cllr Yvonne Peacock, who faces a two-hour return trip to attend meetings at County Hall in Northallerton, said online broadcasting of remote meetings had benefited residents in her area.

She said:

“It saves taxpayers’ money and has kept everybody safe because we aren’t mixing. We know many people are double vaccinated, but the infection rates are still quite high in places, so at this stage I think we would do right to continue as we are.”

Parents and staff object to closure of Harrogate district school

Parents, staff and governors have objected to a planned closure of a Harrogate district school.

Baldersby St James Church of England Primary School has announced it will close in August 2022.

Hope Sentamu Learning Trust, the Church of England trust that runs the school, announced the closure, saying low pupil numbers “show no prospect of improving for many years ahead”.

However, parents, staff and members of the community have set up a campaign group called Save Baldersby St James Primary School, to fight the move.

Campaigners argue that the decision was “carried out in secret, without open discussion” and that the school was not “given an adequate chance to build numbers”.

Sally Muir, a spokesperson for Save Baldersby St James Primary School, said:

“The Hope Sentamu Learning Trust clearly fails to see the benefits of a small rural school.

“In an era where running costs are elevated above all other criteria, it is a shame that a school with both history and potential that has long served the community is now earmarked for closure.

“In their letter to parents and carers the trust claimed that they ‘have comprehensively researched and considered all potential options available to support the continued operation of the school. As there is good quality church and non-church education in the local area with capacity this provides us with limited options’.

“As parents we are yet to be provided with any data by the trust and this also suggests that the so-called Christian trust is prioritising short-term costs over long-term rural community effects.”

Meanwhile, Stuart Carver, a school governor, said the trust had “limited interest in a small rural school and has no inclination to help it thrive or continue”.

The school, which is a grade II listed building, has a maximum capacity of 60 students.

Helen Winn, chief executive of the academy trust, said in a statement:

“This has not been an easy decision, but after a great deal of consideration, we came to the conclusion that this is the best resolution for the children concerned and their education.

“As part of the process, we have carefully looked at potential options, including speaking to other local multi-academy trusts, looking at the possibility of sharing the delivery of the curriculum with schools within and outside Hope Sentamu, and changing the nature of provision at the school but ultimately none of the options were practically viable.”

She added that the low numbers has “proved impossible to deliver the broad, balanced curriculum that the children deserve”.

Carlton Miniott Primary Academy, Dishforth Church of England Primary School and Topcliffe Church of England Academy would take up the catchment areas left by the school closure.

Meanwhile, senior councillors at North Yorkshire County Council look set to offer no objection to the decision at a meeting on Tuesday.

The county council, which is the local education authority, has been consulted on the closure.

Baldersby St James school was built by Lord Downe following the establishment of the village in 1850. The school has served generations of pupils in Baldersby St James, Rainton and the surrounding areas.

Drop in pupil numbers

‘A highly charged political issue’

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Impact on communities

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Parents campaign to save school

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Pannal park and ride

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Project team to meet in Harrogate

New plans yet to be revealed

Encourage sustainable travel

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Work due to begin in summer

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‘Devolution is a key part of levelling up’

HCC as an economic asset

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Town council control?

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