Funding for a 900-pupil Telford faith academy in peril
Funding for a new 900-pupil school in Telford could be lost if residents do not end a campaign calling for better access to the site, council chiefs claim.
Councillor Paul Watling, a member of Telford & Wrekin Council's cabinet, said he feared the Government could drop plans to pay for a new Christian academy in Priorslee if campaigners continue to demand changes.
He said such a scenario would put the whole project for the school in jeopardy.
It comes after calls were made by Councillor Veronica Fletcher, ward member for Priorslee, and Lucy Allan, Conservative parliamentary candidate for Telford, for new access on to
Castle Farm Way directly from the planned Holy Trinity Academy campus.
The new school is planned for the former Centrica site and will incorporate the current Blessed Robert Johnson Catholic College (BRJ) in Wellington.
It forms part of the council's £200 million Building Schools for the Future programme.
Plans for each individual school will need to be signed off by Government officials before work can proceed. It has not been revealed how much the Holy Trinity Academy development will cost. The main access to the new school will be via a cul-de-sac – Teece Drive. Pupils from BRJ, currently the only Catholic secondary school in Shropshire, will be bussed in to the new campus.
Councillor Watling, cabinet member for children, young people and families, said: "For many years now the residents of Priorslee have called for a new school in their area and this administration have worked extremely hard to make this happen. An independent traffic assessment has been carried out by Atkins which clearly determined there were no concerns with traffic flow around the proposed school site."
Councillor Fletcher said: "I've been campaigning to have this school built for over 20 years, but I'm so disappointed with the way it's being done. Priorslee Avenue, the only way to gain access to Teece Drive, is already too busy in the mornings and afternoons, with lorries taking supplies to the nearby Ricoh complex and supermarket."
Jim Collins, Telford & Wrekin Council's assistant director for education and corporate parenting, said a transport assessment had been carried out which showed plans for Holy Trinity Academy would have minimal impact on the highways network.
