MP hits out at 'outrageous' decision to axe school

9 hours ago

Lewis AdamsEssex

Reuters Priti Patel has black hair and looks pensive in her expression. She is wearing a white jacket. — Witham MP Dame Priti Patel said it was "outrageous" that Lodge Farm Primary School would no longer be built in her constituency

The withdrawal of funding for a new 420-place school has been described as "insulting" by Dame Priti Patel.

Lodge Farm Primary School was going to be built as part of a new 750-home development in north Witham, Essex.

The government said on Thursday it would no longer pay for the project, a decision Essex County Council has vowed to fight.

"This is an outrageous decision, which will cause harm to education and school provision in Witham and Essex," said Dame Priti, the town's Conservative MP. The Department for Education has been contacted for comment.

The development, first given planning consent in 2015, also included a nursery with provision for 56 youngsters.

PA Media The back of children's heads sat in a classroom. They wear red polo shirts and many of them have their hands raised. A woman with blonde hair is sitting at the front of the classroom facing the pupils. — The government first suggested it wanted to scrap the school in December

In a letter to Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, posted on social media, Dame Priti accused the government of leaving the town with "a significant shortage in local school places".

She said it would also negatively impact children with special educational needs and disabilities.

People buying homes on the Lodge Farm development were "aghast" at the decision, the MP later told BBC Essex.

"So many of them bought their homes in anticipation and with the expectation that this new school was coming," she said, urging the government to reconsider.

The government first notified Essex County Council of its planned decision to cancel the development in December.

Peter Harris, the local authority's incoming Reform UK leader, said it was an "extremely disappointing and short-sighted decision", describing it as a "massive blow" for families.

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