The Education Situation

We’ve been enquiring into the situation with primary school places in Rayleigh – why Essex County Council were originally asking for a new primary school “North of London Road”, and now they’re not.
It seems that on the basis of a planning application for 475 homes , ECC don’t believe an extra school is needed. Admissions to primary school places in Rayleigh for September 2014 are high, but future school intakes are projected to reduce (this is based on GP registrations).

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  • So already the fears of many, including myself, are being justified. Include the Hullbridge numbers and 1,000 new homes could equate to a minimum 500 to 1,000 extra pupils of school age. Where will they be educated? Next will be the doctors can cope with the extra numbers. A new school should be built on the new development and not to do so is short sighted. Numbers only would indicate the next 3 to 4 years anyway.

  • 475 quickly followed by 75 (= 550)plus 220 on Rawreth Ind Estate, OH and the 100+ on the Eon site, plus random smaller builder projects. I make that 900>1000…still no school?.
    This is how they avoid the issues, for example each seperate Developer will do traffic relating only to their bit, no overall cumulative impact (no joined up thinking again).
    It is a deliberate divide & conquer policy (no oversight)- it gets ECC Highways off the hook, Developers should be paying for infrastructure but do not via this piece meal policy.
    These points must be the basis of formal objections to the Planning Applications (and reasoning against in the Council Chamber).

  • I think the first thing to ask is that is that the advice of Essex County Council in terms of education and highways should be made public. As a councillor I’m only getting info because I’m asking, and I’m only getting an incomplete version.

  • Chris – when is the next opportunity to formally request this of the full RD Council ( or ECC ) , if that opportunity is open to the public we could recruit a big ( vocal ) turnout.

    Clearly they will try delaying tactics ( Countryside submit in the Summer )but needs to be an issue before that – when ?, thanks – JIM.

  • Jim, We have annual council after the elections, but the next Full Council is, I think, July 29th. But I will be asking this week, doesn’t need to go through a council meeting (I hope).

  • OK Chris , thanks .
    Now that East Wickford ( Runwell Site 500+ ) plans are out we have a sort of Bermuda Triangle – Rayleigh/ Rawreth , Hullbridge , Wickford of mass development –
    surely some sort of Inrastructure initiative is now needed?……JIM.

  • Yes, otherwise the rest of us are going to be like hedgehogs marooned in an island of traffic destined to get squashed if we venture forth. Either that or we will become some mythical creatures who no-one actually believes exist because we are never seen or heard from, buried beneath the waves of indifference emanating from ECC and RDC. Rawreth will be the new Atlantis.

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