Informal consultation to launch on new primary school in Gateford area of Worksop as county council remain ‘committed’ to plans

Nottinghamshre County Council will conduct a local, informal consultation to canvass views on the need for a new 210-place primary school in the Gateford area before deciding whether to launch a free school presumption process.

Informal consultations at this stage of the planning process are classed as best practice by the Department for Education’s ‘Establishing a new school: free school presumption’ guidelines.

Plans for the primary school have been in the pipeline since 2014 after being approved as part of a multi-million Gateford Park development off Churchill Way.

The new housing development is currently projected to increase the need for primary school places by approximately 158 pupils and there is a section 106 obligation on the developer to contribute funding towards a new school.

A county council spokesperson said the authority is “committed to supporting children to access education near to where they live wherever possible”.

Labour councillors have been campaigning for the school after previous council reports from 2020 stated that construction for the school was to begin in 2022, and be delivered “no later than 2023”.

It was feared that the lack of progress would lead to the section 106 agreement being handed back to the Gateford Park developers.

However a council chief assured that the authority was taking “appropriate steps”, and the council has now outlined plans for the new school to open in September 2024.

This consultation will run for six weeks from January 16 until February 27, 2023.

The next step in the Free School Presumption process would be to invite applications from Multi Academy Trust sponsors and identify the most suitable candidate. The council would then work with the successful sponsor and the housing developer to open the new school next year.

Councillor Tracey Taylor, the county council’s Cabinet Member for Children and Families, said: “The county council has a statutory duty to ensure there are enough school places for children across Nottinghamshire.

“We have secured the land and funding to provide a new primary school, but now we need to gather the views of people in the Gateford-Shireoaks planning area to ensure this proposal meets their needs and expectations.

“I therefore encourage everybody with an interest in this issue to take part in this consultation.”