Councillor calls move to close Kirkby Fleetham school 'undemocratic'
A move to close a North Yorkshire school has been "undemocratic", showing "scant regard" for the community's views, a councillor has told a government minister. In January, the Dales Academies Trust announced it planned to close Kirkby Fleetham Church of England Primary School, near Northallerton, at the end of the summer term due to low pupil numbers.Campaigners pledged to continue to fight to keep the school open, with Annabel Wilkinson, North Yorkshire Council's executive member for education, writing to education secretary Bridget Phillipson to share her dissatisfaction about the process.The Department for Education has been approached for comment by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
Wilkinson said parents were informed on 16 January that the trust was proposing to close the school and that the government had given their in-principal approval.The council said it was advised that a substantive decision to close the school was then made less than a fortnight later. "Not only am I staggered at how undemocratic this process is, how little regard is paid to listening to any views of stakeholders and the community, but your own guidance is very misleading regarding the role of the local authority in the process and decision," Wilkinson wrote.
When the council makes a decision to close a school it is always reached after a "lengthy and very thorough public consultation process", she said."Your process has no consultation and pays scant regard to anything the community wants to say regarding the closure - this just isn't right," the councillor concluded.The decision to shut the rural school, which has 18 pupils, prompted a campaign from parents, past pupils, and the wider community.More than 600 people have signed a petition calling for the school to stay open.Save Our School campaigner Tim Barker said: "The whole process stinks."There's been a lack of oversight, a lack of authentic community engagement and a lack of humanity."
Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
03-06-2025
- BBC News
Major North Yorkshire projects at risk over funding pressures
Major projects in North Yorkshire could be cancelled if new funding cannot be found, a council has Yorkshire Council took over a number of schemes begun by the former district and borough councils in 2023 following its inception in with the authority forecasting an annual deficit of between £30m and £35m due to rising costs and government funding cuts it said it had to prioritise statutory services such as health, children and vulnerable the capital projects under threat are the relocation of Malton's Livestock Market and the redevelopment of Sherburn Town Centre. The council's deputy leader and executive member for finance and resources, Gareth Dadd, said the authority was looking at prioritising schemes which were not already under way."All those legacy projects that have been hoped for in years to come, quite frankly, they ain't going to be a priority financially when competing against some of the real deep moral issues that we're having to deal with."He said the it was right the council took a "fresh look" at these projects."It's about a business case coming forward and then making the cut against what is vitally important to this authority, but more importantly to the residents that we're trying to protect and serve." Loss of funding The plan to relocate Malton's Livestock Market will only move forward if it is still considered a priority after a business case considering all the funding options was work to Sherburn Town Centre is also at risk after delays resulted in the loss of the shared prosperity funding needed to complete a legacy scheme relating to the Wyvern Park Industrial Estate in Skipton could also be halted until a new business case and funding options are to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, a report to the council's executive also stated the redevelopment of the former Argos Site and Market Place Regeneration Project, in Scarborough, has already been have also been warned several schemes already begun were at risk of costing more than planned and could overrun. Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
BBC News
03-06-2025
- BBC News
Scarborough Grand Hotel 'highly suitable' for kittiwake nest site
Nests for up to 1,050 kittiwakes could be installed at a landmark hotel as part of efforts to limit noise and mess from the birds.A council-funded study identified the terrace of Scarborough's Grand Hotel as a "highly suitable" location to house a series of artificial nesting structures (ANS).It was one of four sites inspected by an ornithologist as part of ongoing work aimed at managing the impact of the town's kittiwake of North Yorkshire Council's Scarborough and Whitby area committee are set to discuss the findings at a meeting on Friday. Earlier this year the council drafted a new strategy aimed at addressing issues around noise, mess and aggressive behaviour by sea birds in the town - of which kittiwakes are thought to be the "most abundant".As part if the study, four sites were inspected - Star Map in South Cliff Gardens, the derelict concrete chalets, and the Old Bathing report found the Grand Hotel's terrace to be "the most significant" location, describing it as an "almost perfect ecological site" due to its "close proximity to existing nesting colonies and its orientation towards the sea".It said the hotel's terrace presented a "maximum design opportunity" for an artificial nesting structure with up to 1,050 nesting spaces, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, though said such sites "may only ever be 50 to 60 per cent occupied when fully colonised".It was also noted that the structures "do not need to be elaborate or expensive" and could be as simple as a series of purpose-made shelving, made from marine ply or other durable wood and supported by a steel report added that the installation of ANS in the town "represents an opportunity beyond just re-locating numbers of breeding Kittiwake" and could lead to an approach problems caused by the birds which "considers both the needs of local residents and businesses and the support of wild bird populations". Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
BBC News
26-05-2025
- BBC News
North Yorkshire Council accused of 'cynical ploy' over transport
A council has been accused of a "cynical ploy" after telling parents they would no longer be eligible for free school transport for their children just before the half-term Yorkshire Council sent its decision notice out by email on Friday outlining the new policies on home-to-school free transport eligibility has been for children living in rural areas with long journeys to school that were paid for by the on Friday councillors voted to approve a change to the scheme, that means provision is based on the distance to a pupil's nearest school rather than any school of their choice within the catchment area. £4.2m saving Altering the eligibility rules would save the council £42m a year, and is currently the authority's third-largest council has defended the policy change, and said the move would make savings at a time of severe financial added that the new policy was "fairer" because under the old system, some families claimed the grants for journeys to more than one school for their for children and young people, Stuart Carlton, said the information had been sent as quickly as possible, and parents who had already been in touch would receive families of children due to start secondary school in September were informed on 30 May and those with children due to start primary school are due to find out by 30 June. 'Cynical ploy' Those who have complained are those who wish to send their child to a school within their catchment area but which is not the closest one to their home, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) said, and campaign group School Transport Action Group (STAG) has called for the policy to revert to the old criticised the council for telling parents on a Friday afternoon before a Bank Holiday weekend when no council staff were available to answer queries."This adds insult to injury," STAG said."Anguished parents have been left in the dark as to what they are supposed to do now."This seems a really cynical ploy by the council to deliver bad news and then not be on hand to help sort out the mess."We're starting to wonder what North Yorkshire parents have done to deserve this type of treatment from their council." Parent Rachael Berry, who lives near Skipton, received an email advising that her daughter would not be eligible for free transport because Skipton Girls' High School, where she has a place, was not their nearest school."It's going to be a time of confusion for parents about what to do next."The bus passes are allocated on a first-come-first served basis, so we need to get the message out to check if you've got an email, and get your application in as soon as possible."The Green Party councillor for Great Ouseburn, a small village between Ripon and York, said the council needed to "be careful" about how it treated families, and the decision should not be made for "convenience"."Sometimes there's no solution for everyone, but what you can do with everybody is give them due consideration," Arnold Warneken said. "We've sent these emails out when there will be nobody at the council for three days and nobody at the schools to talk to for 10 days because it's half-term. "This seems to be being rushed through."Mr Carlton added: "We are aware that parents and carers have been waiting for information about the child's eligibility for assistance with home to school travel. Therefore, we have tried to provide the information as quickly as possible."The letters sent today provide information not only about whether their child is eligible for assistance with home to school travel, but also about how and where they are able to obtain further information about school travel arrangements, including information about the appeals process."We have already received correspondence from parents about the letters and we will be responding to them as soon as possible." Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
