ONE of the schools earmarked for closure by Cheshire County Council has been thrown an unexpected lifeline.
In December, CCC’s Lead Member for Children’s Services, County Councillor David Rowlands, gave the go ahead for formal consultation which could see four Macclesfield schools close as part of the Transforming Learning Communities (TLC) review.
County councillor Ken Edwards moved to ‘call in’ the proposal to close Bollington St John’s CE primary for reappraisal, alongside fellow councillors Dorothy Flude and Pat Merrick, amid fears a vital road safety recommendation had been overlooked.
Coun Edwards said: "Safe routes to local schools for people in their own communities must be paramount on the grounds of equity, safety and the environment."
He said the issue must be considered by TLC decision makers before they can move forward with plans regarding the location of Bollington’s school.
The authority proposes to build a new school for the town comprising pupils from Bollington Cross and St John’s on the site of Bollington Cross.
But the school is currently situated on the B5090, ranked as the 37th most dangerous road in Cheshire in terms of killed or seriously injured people per km between 2004 and 2006, according to CCC’s own Road Casualties Report.
County coun Sylvia Roberts said that she felt unable to support the motion.
"It is a rotten situation and I think we have to make the best we can do, accept it and get on with it the best way we can," she said.
"We don’t have sufficient children to fill five schools in the area and we have to look for the best possible solution for the children.
"It is a very painful situation, not only for the parents but for me as I represent all of Bollington and whatever I decide is going to be wrong for 50 per cent of the people."
A spokeswoman for CCC confirmed the process had been put on hold until the Performance and Overview Committee meets on Thursday, January 24.
She added: "They can offer no advice and the decision will stand, but if they do offer advice, they have to decide where and when it goes next. It will be either a meeting of the full executive on January 31, or the next ordinary meeting of the full council on February 25."
