Monday, February 20, 2006
New School
Building Schools for the Future
Proposed new school in Nevison Avenue
I have always held the opinion since the first draft proposal was released (in respect of building at Temple Memorial Park), that one of the options available had more merit than the others. It has since proved problematic, after public consultation, to gain a reasonable concensus for the location of the proposed new school to serve our teenagers in the South and West of South Shields.
The first preferred option for building at Temple Memple Memorial Park was always likely to run into a barrage of public criticism and fervant opposition, particularly in the current climate of protecting green land, and so it proved. The next proposal to build at the current Chuter Ede site in Galsworthy Road also proved problematic because of it's proximity to an old landfill site, increased traffic in the locality, and the loss of certain community amenities. The third proposal, to build at the current King George School site in Nevison Avenue is also not without it's shortcomings; local opposition to development on the edge of the green belt between Cleadon Village and South Shields is historical and can be linked to the opposition in previous years to the proposed new Temple Park school. In my opinion the proposals to build at Chuter Ede and the King George School were both flawed, mainly because each site is too close to the edge of the town.
However, a plan originally conceived at the outset, appears to be overlooked. Contained within the original public consultation documents was a plan to use the site of the current Brinkburn school in McAnaney Avenue. It's merits, I thought, were considerable. The site is almost centrally located and on current public transport routes, the local neighbourhood is quite used to living cheek to cheek with four schools (Brinkburn, St. Wilfred's, Margaret Sutton, and Ashleigh Road), traffic has never been a great issue in the area, and road safety measures are already good. Additionally, the school has plenty of land currently available for development, as well as rudimentary sports facilities. It ought to be possible to develop a workable option for developing this site, or indeed the land adjacent to St. Wilfred's and Ashleigh primary school. There is sufficient land available for sporting as well as academic use, a major consideration when seeking further central funding if the proposed school is to have special sports status.
Without doubt, our children of the future deserve to have an establishment that will more than meet their needs and allow them to flourish and grow, both physically and mentally. The community around the new school needs to be assured that there will be minimal disruption to their way of life by having this facility within it's midst, and that they too can make use of the new school's facilities to improve fitness and health. By allowing this new school to be developed at Brinkburn, I believe that most of the original aspirations could be met, and if presented in a positive manner, opposition could be nullified, or at the worst minimalised.
Building at the Brinkburn site would also allow the current King George site to be returned to "green" use, and added to Temple Memorial Park, perhaps as a nature reserve or dedicated "wetland". This was part of the scope of the plan when developing the idea for using Temple Memorial Park for the new school site. Such a decision would be most welcomed by the people of the Borough, and would help to maintain the separation between South Shields and Cleadon Village, thereby minimising urban sprawl.
Finally, if a decison could be reached to develop the Brinkburn site, I would suggest a name for the school including the words "Central" and "Sport" - perhaps "South Shields Central Academy for Education and Sport" might be appropriate.
These are my thoughts to be added to the melting pot, and perhaps they may be seen as having some workable compromises amongst them, I sincerely hope so because further debate and consultation exercises will only serve to delay the project further. The Council seem determined, at present to develop the new school at the current King George site, a decision which I cannot support. However the consultation exercise is not yet complete, so local residents can have a say but must submit their comments by 30th March 2006. You can do so by using the form on the Council Website.
Link
School proposal - have your say.
_________________________________________________________________
Proposed new school in Nevison Avenue
I have always held the opinion since the first draft proposal was released (in respect of building at Temple Memorial Park), that one of the options available had more merit than the others. It has since proved problematic, after public consultation, to gain a reasonable concensus for the location of the proposed new school to serve our teenagers in the South and West of South Shields.
The first preferred option for building at Temple Memple Memorial Park was always likely to run into a barrage of public criticism and fervant opposition, particularly in the current climate of protecting green land, and so it proved. The next proposal to build at the current Chuter Ede site in Galsworthy Road also proved problematic because of it's proximity to an old landfill site, increased traffic in the locality, and the loss of certain community amenities. The third proposal, to build at the current King George School site in Nevison Avenue is also not without it's shortcomings; local opposition to development on the edge of the green belt between Cleadon Village and South Shields is historical and can be linked to the opposition in previous years to the proposed new Temple Park school. In my opinion the proposals to build at Chuter Ede and the King George School were both flawed, mainly because each site is too close to the edge of the town.
However, a plan originally conceived at the outset, appears to be overlooked. Contained within the original public consultation documents was a plan to use the site of the current Brinkburn school in McAnaney Avenue. It's merits, I thought, were considerable. The site is almost centrally located and on current public transport routes, the local neighbourhood is quite used to living cheek to cheek with four schools (Brinkburn, St. Wilfred's, Margaret Sutton, and Ashleigh Road), traffic has never been a great issue in the area, and road safety measures are already good. Additionally, the school has plenty of land currently available for development, as well as rudimentary sports facilities. It ought to be possible to develop a workable option for developing this site, or indeed the land adjacent to St. Wilfred's and Ashleigh primary school. There is sufficient land available for sporting as well as academic use, a major consideration when seeking further central funding if the proposed school is to have special sports status.
Without doubt, our children of the future deserve to have an establishment that will more than meet their needs and allow them to flourish and grow, both physically and mentally. The community around the new school needs to be assured that there will be minimal disruption to their way of life by having this facility within it's midst, and that they too can make use of the new school's facilities to improve fitness and health. By allowing this new school to be developed at Brinkburn, I believe that most of the original aspirations could be met, and if presented in a positive manner, opposition could be nullified, or at the worst minimalised.
Building at the Brinkburn site would also allow the current King George site to be returned to "green" use, and added to Temple Memorial Park, perhaps as a nature reserve or dedicated "wetland". This was part of the scope of the plan when developing the idea for using Temple Memorial Park for the new school site. Such a decision would be most welcomed by the people of the Borough, and would help to maintain the separation between South Shields and Cleadon Village, thereby minimising urban sprawl.
Finally, if a decison could be reached to develop the Brinkburn site, I would suggest a name for the school including the words "Central" and "Sport" - perhaps "South Shields Central Academy for Education and Sport" might be appropriate.
These are my thoughts to be added to the melting pot, and perhaps they may be seen as having some workable compromises amongst them, I sincerely hope so because further debate and consultation exercises will only serve to delay the project further. The Council seem determined, at present to develop the new school at the current King George site, a decision which I cannot support. However the consultation exercise is not yet complete, so local residents can have a say but must submit their comments by 30th March 2006. You can do so by using the form on the Council Website.
Link
School proposal - have your say.
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