Work starts on homes but no school yet
WORK is due to start on a massive housing development but the children of Cinderford will have to wait for a new primary school.
Diggers have moved onto the site off St White's Road to prepare the ground for 169 new houses.
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DIGGERS MOVE IN: Mount Pleasant.
But plans for a new primary school, first raised 30 years ago, are up in the air again after Cinderford missed the boat for funding.
Education chiefs could not wait for the planning wrangles to be sorted out and have allocated money earmarked for a new school elsewhere.
As the costs of a new single primary for nearly 300 pupils soars to over £6 million, St Whites will have to join the queue for cash again.
District councillors gave permission for the housing development to go ahead after hearing the current school is on a split site divided by a main road.
They heard Bloor Homes have allocated a two hectare site worth £500,000 within the development so education chiefs can build a new school.
But the council education spokesman said: "The details of this are currently being confirmed.
"Funding for the new school will need to come from the primary capital programme. The earliest this can happen will be 2012. Although the school is a high priority, we need to establish which schools are the highest priority before funding is allocated."
Parish councillors have urged education chiefs to find the funding before time runs out, but St White's head- teacher Paul Woodward said it would be business as usual.
He said: "We have needed a new school for 30 years and the governors have made representations to the local authority but if there's no money available we will have to wait for the next allocation."
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by j davies, coleford glos
Wednesday, February 03 2010, 7:20AM
“everything that j r hartley has said is right. it should be a place of work not homes”
by Forest Boy, Cinderford
Tuesday, February 02 2010, 9:47PM
“Why worry about a new School to replace St Whites, all those in the know in Cinderford either send their kids to St Anthony's or Littledean anyway.
Just seems a sell out again and nothing new for Cinderford AGAIN. Hope CoOp can cope with stocking enough bread and milk when it snows again. They sold out last time and have no decent bakery that Tesco would have brought us.
Yes I did go to St Whites and live in Cinderford and the town is a poor example of a desperate and dying shopping place.
Me thinks some Cinderford residents really are looking through rose tinted specs.”
by LUCY JONES, cinderford
Monday, February 01 2010, 10:54AM
“Lovely comment from 'Vera Spoon' , Newent isnt much better believe me, some of us have lived here for years.”
by davros, zinderforddddd
Sunday, January 31 2010, 6:06PM
“bring em on more homes we need ..forget all where the jobs are.. forget about more cars on the road...forget about tescos lets all shop at the co op jolly wee store ..lets build build build forget about the wild boar sheep deers lets bring in more ..forget zinderford as a drug problem lets get more drug dealers here open a few boozers lets a few drunkards live ere with the 100s or more ..lets get more familys to move in withASBOon them blend in with rest but hey jezzie stay in bream oh buttie let boozie sue drive that rust old van in our town blend in with rest of folk WELCOME TO CINDERFORD IN THE HEART OF FOREST OF DEAN”
by Jezzie, still herding sheep in Bream, Drity hole on main road in Bream
Sunday, January 31 2010, 1:12PM
“Lots of new homes for me to stalk and delvier milk too, me and boozie Sue likes a trip out to Cinderford, can check the sheep out on route”
by Vera Spoon, Newent
Saturday, January 30 2010, 10:51AM
“This is sad news !
Cinderford is a blot on the landscape . A shabby scruffy little town , The place should be eroded and not encouraged to increase in size .”
by F, FoD
Friday, January 29 2010, 8:50PM
“Glad to see priorities are right here!!! Where are the children from these new houses going to go to school. Most classrooms in the locality are already full to their maximum. MARK, GLOUCESTER, I like th way you say, schools cost money with no return....remember these children are your future and their education suffers when they are crammed like sardines into schools and classrooms that cannot reasonably accomodate them. Be careful what you say. The FOD district council is at fault here for no forward thinking yet again!!”
by J R Hartley, CINDERFORD
Friday, January 29 2010, 1:56PM
“Cinderford does not need another 169 houses. There are not enough jobs and community infrastructure to support the towns population as it is. And we certainly dont want a load of 'affordable housing' to encourage and worsen the whole state of affairs- a whole generation growing up and multiplying; thinking the state will house them and look after them for the rest of their lives.”
by Another frustrated A40 driver, Mitcheldean
Friday, January 29 2010, 1:11PM
“Oh great, a few more cars on the A40 & A48!”
by Mal, Local
Friday, January 29 2010, 11:01AM
“fed up, fod.
That's a funny remark...Has Labour been in government for 30 years? Doesn't time fly?
More to the point: Is Bloor Homes giving the allocated land to the education chiefs or asking half a million for it.”