NO doubt your readers will know that the new junior school on the Paxcroft Mead estate in Trowbridge has opened.
WWDC had reserved an adjacent site for a secondary school. However, following objections from John of Gaunt, Clarendon and Matravers Schools, the council has changed its mind and is proposing to sell the site to a developer for housing. Obviously no consideration has been given to future school building needs and this leaves east Trowbridge without a secondary school. Why it is thought that the excess pupils will opt to attend Matravers instead of St Laurence in Bradford on Avon is hard to understand.
The whole affair seems to have a direct comparison with the Leigh Park School in Westbury Leigh and has a similar smell about it.
Readers will recall the developers of the Leigh Park estate proposed to build a school on a site that is very close to the centre of Westbury Leigh and very central for the new houses.
The point that needs to be made is that once a fixed number of dwellings have been built the developers have a statutory duty to build a school.
Surprise, surprise, the developers have asked the WWDC if they can build houses on this school site and are offering an alternative site on the far side of Leigh Park that is adjacent to the buffer zone (if not in it), on the main road through the estate, and on water-logged land.
Also, it may be that this land is part of the water-logged land in the proposed land swap for Matravers' sports field and Penleigh Park's residents' recreational land. The road mentioned is designed for 50mph speed limit and if Westbury does not receive finance for the bypass will form part of the inner relief road (Co-op roundabout, The Mead, Rosefield Way, Oldfield Road, the new distributor road, Tower Hill roundabout) to keep heavy transport out of the town centre.
One cannot blame the developers for it is their job to maximise their profits for the benefit of their shareholders. But what of the councillors at town and district level? The mind boggles.
PETE EZRA,
Eden Vale Road,
Westbury.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article