Residents react to new Walsall school plans

Residents on a Walsall street have voiced strong opposition to a proposal to build a 1000-place school on their doorsteps.

The Department for Education has chosen Reedswood Park as its preferred site to build a £50 million new free school which will result in the loss of 13.7 acres of woodland. 

The Local Democracy Reporting Service went to speak to residents on the proposed access route, Reedswood Lane, to hear their thoughts on the facility to be named Windsor Apollo Academy. 

Former police officer, John Spooner, described those behind the project as ‘lunatics’. 

The 76-year-old said: “At times you can’t see up and down this lane. It’s dangerous on the corner of Reedswood Lane. Sometimes the cars come round that corner on two wheels, they just fly round. There’s going to be accidents. 

“They want to turn up thousands of trees, which we paid for, is there anything more stupid? Talk about wasting money. 

“This area is already heavily populated. They’re not going to turn up Sutton Park are they? There’s a lot of places in Walsall where they could put that school, it is not necessary to ruin Reedswood Park.”

Another Reedswood resident, Mrs Dolan, added: “None of us want the entrance on this street. We have enough problems with traffic as it is. To have the kids as well, it’s too much. 

“In the morning you can’t get out of the street, you can’t move. When you’ve got schools empty, at Sneyd, the academy, Willenhall Comp, why build it here and bring children out of the area to the school. 

“It’s a beautiful park and lovely woodland. We walk around there. It would be a shame for it to go. Pelsall hasn’t got a high school at all. Build something over there. Don’t build it in an area that’s built up like this and take away the park that a lot of people use.”

Having reported on the scheme for more than 12 months, it is clear that the local community is overwhelmingly against having the school built on the woodland. 

Community campaign group, Keep Reedswood Green, has set up a petition against the project which has received nearly 2000 signatures. 

Despite the opposition, the Labour government’s Department for Education is pushing on with the plans. 

Prior to the May elections, Reform opposed building the school at Reedswood Park and said it would be ‘cheaper and more environmentally friendly’ to restore the nearby vacant Sneyd Comprehensive. 

The party said the ‘transaction makes no sense on the face of it and all paperwork needs thorough examination’. 

The planning application for the project was published on Walsall Council’s website this week. The decision to approve or refuse the application now lies in the hands of the newly elected Reform council. 

Reedswood resident Taz Mahmood, 46, said: “We’re not happy with the school. It’s going to cause a nightmare here. We can’t get through as it is. There’s up to 1000 kids coming, where are they going to park? 

“There’s land on Green Lane. I don’t know why they don’t put the school there. I don’t know what they were thinking. People won’t be able to get in and out the street. I won’t be able to get out to work in the morning. 

“The park in summer time was full. When the school is there, where is everyone going to go? We’re losing the value of the houses as well. It’s just going to be a nightmare.”

Another resident Mark Trobisch has lived next to the park all his life. He said: “I don’t think it can be stopped. I think we’ve had it. They will build on that land. They’ve got no common sense on how to go about things.”

Last week Windsor Academy Trust notified residents at Rivers Primary Academy, one of the proposed feeder schools for Apollo, that children currently in year four and five could apply for a place at the new school. 

It said every child that joins Apollo will receive free school uniform, free school bus transport and a free personal iPad. 

Chris Jones, chair of Birchills Agenda 21, said the letter is ‘pre-empting the planning process’. 

He said: “It doesn’t give you confidence in the system. It’s actually pre-empting the planning process.

“Residents will shrug their shoulders and say ‘what’s the point?’. They will think what’s the point in making an objection and trying to save something if it’s already a foregone conclusion. It’s wrong and it’s unfair.” 

The Department for Education has not provided a comment. 

A spokesperson for Windsor Academy Trust said: “We are proud to be bringing our experience of running high-performing schools to Reedswood, and we are committed to working closely with families and the wider community as the school develops.

“We understand there are questions locally about the site and wider place-planning decisions. The planning process sits outside the scope of our remit but we understand the planning application will appear on the local authority planning portal imminently.

“Our Section 10 consultation is currently live and is inviting views on the educational vision for the proposed school. Our focus is on ensuring that the school is shaped in the best interests of the children and families it will serve, with a strong educational offer, high-quality SEND support, community facilities and a long-term, sustainable future at the heart of the local community.”

A spokesperson for Walsall Council said: “The council has received a planning application for a proposed new secondary school on land north of Reedswood Lane, which is now available to view on the council’s planning portal.

 “As part of the consultation process, residents living near the site will receive neighbour notification letters. Site notices will also be displayed in the local area, and a notice will be published in the local press.”