PROPOSALS TO rebuild Saddleworth School on the current Uppermill site rather than relocate to Diggle will be presented to Oldham Council.
The move comes after Saddleworth Parish Council voted at an Extraordinary Meeting in favour of putting the new plans before council leader Jim McMahon and Saddleworth School head Matthew Milburn.
The scheme, drawn up by Cllr Mike Buckley with a professional architect and builder, looks at erecting a new school at the rear of the current site and replacing existing buildings with playing fields.
The current school would remain in operation during construction, with just one block of six to eight classrooms demolished to make way for a new access road.
Cllr Buckley estimates extra costs for temporary accommodation, contouring, a new road, demolition and a retaining wall would amount to £570,000 outside of the EFA’s £15million allocation to build the school.
He said: “I think if we look at the cost of developing the site at Diggle it would come to a lot more than this.
“We need to work positively and see what we can do to get a new school for Saddleworth on the existing site.”
Parish Council Chairman Graham Sheldon added: “The Parish Council is a very small entity when you compare it to Oldham Council but by working with residents we can have the power to change things.
“This is going to affect our children and grandchildren for many years to come. We have got to get it right.”
Around 50 residents attended the meeting and many backed the plans for redevelopment of the current site rather than a move to Huddersfield Road.
Diggle resident Melanie Koen, 33, spoke on behalf of the ‘Save Diggle Action Group’ and revealed support has been flooding in from across the community.
“Businesses in Uppermill are contacting us, fearful of the economic consequences of the school leaving its traditional location, centred as it is in Uppermill,” she said.
“We are not protesting against the school being built. We are merely asking questions as to why the existing site cannot be used and why Diggle is the only cost-effective option.
“SDAG has been working co-operatively with the school and Debbie Abrahams to find a way forward that doesn’t ruin the fragile heritage of Saddleworth but gets a good modern school for all our children.”
Another resident, who oversaw a £40million redevelopment for 1,600 pupils as former headteacher in Bolton, added his concerns.
“This isn’t just about Diggle,” he said. “It is about the quality of school that will emerge. A school built for £15million will be like the building I pulled down in Bolton.
“It would be better to see a phased development of the present site and utilise some of the existing buildings.”
But some councillors urged residents to think carefully about pushing to stay at the current site.
Cllr Robert McCann said: “If we cannot give the EFA a suitable site then the children of Saddleworth could end up with nothing.
“What would people think about 300 or 400 houses being built in Diggle instead? We have to think about the knock-on consequences.”
Cllr Alan Roughley added: “The present school is past its sell-by date. It hasn’t changed since my children went to it.
“I do not care where this school is built. All I care about is that children get a good education and a good start in life.”
And Cllr Royce Franklin said: “Let’s get real. We might end up with no school at all and children could be sent to schools throughout the borough.
“We have a responsibility for the education of our children and if that means a school in Diggle then I want it in Diggle.”
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