Residents may halt £3m work at primary school (From Warrington Guardian)

Residents may halt £3m work at primary school

PUBLIC opinion could halt a multi-million pound new school development in a Warrington village, before it has even begun.

Stockton Heath Primary School has been given more than £3million to build a new school in the village. But residents have said they don't want a new building.

Instead, they are calling on the borough council to refurbish the existing school building to make it suitable for the 21st century.

Clr Celia Jordan said: "There is a groundswell of public opinion that the existing building should stay. There is evidence that there is a Roman road under the school so, before anything is done, the site needs to be excavated.

"We are also hoping to get the building listed, which would prevent any work being done on the building without proper permission."

Parents, governors and residents lobbied education chiefs at a special meeting on Friday, February 4 at Bridgewater High School.

Following the meeting, Malcolm Roxburgh, strategic director of education, told the Guardian the council had not ruled out refurbishing the existing school building.

He said: "We are considering a number of options for the future of Stockton Heath Primary School.

"The full replacement of the school and the extension and refurbishment of the existing building are two of those options and, at this stage, we would not rule out either one of these.

"We appreciate and value the views of parents and the school community as we develop plans for the site, however, first and foremost we have to consider the children and their education.

"We want to avoid disruption to their learning as much as we possibly can and make the right decision for both the short and long term future."