News

Emmbrook School’s future still hangs in the balance
advertisement

Emmbrook School’s future still hangs in the balance

By High Fort
June 30, 2009

Residents wanting to keep The Emmbrook School on their doorstep have confronted the borough’s top councillor for answers.

Worried members of residents’ groups from the area met with Councillor David Lee, leader of Wokingham Borough Council, to get a clearer picture of the school’s future.

Cllr Lee told the group the school’s future location remains uncertain, despite the council’s core strategy, which shows where homes and schools will be located in the future, indicating the school will be moved from Emmbrook Road to Arborfield.

A Government inspector will have the final say on the document, which proposes 1,500 homes be built on land north of Emmbrook, in the next few months.

Pauline Simpson, chairman of the Joel Park Residents’ Association, said the group is prepared to fight to keep the school in Emmbrook.

She said: “We arranged the meeting with Cllr Lee because of the uncertainty over the future of the school.

“However, he was unable to give us an answer so we will just have to wait and see what the inspector comes back with.

“From a parents’ point of view, they would want the school to stay so there is continuation from the infant and junior schools, but I’ve also spoken to older people and they say the schools are an important part of the make up of the village.

“We will now just have to wait to see what the inspector comes back with and then prepare to fight if they do decide to move it.”

Emmbrook is the only part of Wokingham to have an infant, junior and secondary school, however The Emmbrook has flooded several times over the last two years.

The core strategy shows the borough will have eight schools, with one in Arborfield, and the council has applied for Government funding indicating the only school that should move is The Emmbrook.

Paul Gallagher, chairman of Emmbrook Residents’ Association, said the meeting with Cllr Lee was held to find out what assumptions were being made about the school’s future.

He added although Cllr Lee moved to reassure residents, the council seems to prefer the option to relocate the school from Emmbrook.

Cllr Lee admits the council does not have the cash required to build an additional school and The Emmbrook may have to move to serve the needs of 3,500 extra homes proposed for Arborfield Garrison and other people in the south of the borough.

Cllr Lee said the council would know more once the inspector returns his verdict and promised the residents any proposals the council came forward with would be subject to a lengthy public consultation.

| Submit Comments | View Comments (1)

« Previous Story | Next Story »

Most recent user comments 1 of 1

Show 15 | 25 | 50 per page

So the minority of parent's with children at Emmbrook yet again raise their voices selfishly louder than the rest of us. Of course it doesn't matter to them that 10yr olds are having to leave their homes before 07.30am, nor does it matter to them that several children who should have taken exams recently couldn't because buses didn't turn up, or couldn't get to the school. Why should they as parents even care that in the last 30 months, the school has been closed for just about 2 weeks due to flooding, of course I'm sure that didn't impact on their children's education! There is another secondary school in Wokingham, that is within walking distance for most of the children attending Emmbrook who don't have to bus in. There is no closer alternative for the rest of us. Put up and shut up, stop being so pig headed and self serving!