Academy site was already ruled out

CAMPAIGNERS trying to stop their community green space being swallowed up by an academy have branded the plans "an environmental disaster" and "absurd".

Objectors queued up yesterday to voice concerns to councillors, who were deciding whether to grant planning permission for the 1,300-place school near Anchor Road, Adderley Green.

The protesters armed themselves with photographic evidence of narrow pavements and traffic-choked roads, and a sharply worded document detailing why they believed Stoke-on-Trent City Council had ignored planning policy.

Councillors went on to vote 8-1 to throw out the application. They said it contravened the local structure plan, as the school would be built on a greenfield site and there were inadequate assurances over pedestrian safety.

But celebrations could prove short-lived because the Building Schools for the Future team is now considering its next steps.

And behind the scenes, they still have only one location in the frame for the new school, which will replace Longton's Edensor Technology College and Bucknall's Mitchell and Enterprise College.

Others, including the equally controversial Park Hall gasometer site, have long since been cast aside as either too expensive to redevelop or unworkable.

It wasn't lost on campaigners that Springfield had also previously been ruled out by the authority in 2008.

As The Sentinel reported at the time, the site was considered difficult to develop because of uneven land levels and because there were only limited areas for the school building and playing fields.

Nicky Davis, from the Community School Action Group, one of two groups fighting the proposals, told the committee: "Why are we here today considering this site? It's already failed the feasibility."

So why is the council so intent on pushing through the plans against such vociferous opposition?

By closing both Mitchell and Edensor, and building a multi-million pound academy to serve their combined catchment areas, it has to be located midway between the communities.

Adderley Green was considered the most central point. Yet critics have argued the council is putting two communities together that have never had any real links.

They claim it would make more sense to merge Mitchell and Berry Hill High and to zone off Edensor's catchment to the new academy planned for Blurton.

Council officials say it is too late to re-open that debate. So, it comes down to Springfield.

Pat Smith, chairman of governors at Mitchell Business and Enterprise College, suspects the council may resurrect another site as a contender – Willfield, on the edge of Bentilee.

Either way, she believes closing Mitchell will have a devastating community impact.

Ian Jenkin, vice-chairman of Springfield Action Group, pictured below, claimed the Adderley Green site was "not fit for purpose".

If this site wins approval second-time around, the academy would be built on land currently leased for farming. But the public open space alongside it would be fenced off to become part of the school grounds.

To offset this, the new school's six pitches, multi-use games area, synthetic pitch, and indoor sports facilities would be available for community use.

But loss of open space is just one concern. At yesterday's meeting, councillors heard one section of busy Anchor Road had no footpath. On the other side, the pavement tapers to three feet wide.

Between 2006 and 2009, there were 278 accidents in Anchor Road, including two very serious accidents and one fatality involving a child on the Anchor Road/Mossfield Road roundabout.

Planners have stressed this roundabout would be improved if the school was built and they would also look at footpath improvements.

Peter Tooher, an agent for the council, estimated only "three to four pupils per minute" would walk along the narrow pavement. The figure was disputed by councillors.

Further issues were raised about contamination on the site, which used to be used for landfill.

Joyce Buckley-Parker, from Ashridge Grove, Adderley Green, said her number one concern was children's safety.

The 80-year-old dismissed the proposals as "absolutely outrageous".