FINAL LEGAL agreements to deliver a proposed new Saddleworth School at Diggle have been signed by Oldham Council and partners, subject to successful planning approval.
The local authority has been in negotiations to acquire an area of land at the former WH Shaw Pallets Works on Huddersfield Road for a new school for 1,500 pupils aged 11-16 years old.
The deal will be funded using the existing school site on High Street, Uppermill, in exchange, while a new school will be provided by the Education Funding Agency (EFA).
The option agreement now enables Oldham Council to complete the purchase at any time in the forthcoming months.
This will be done if and when Interserve – the construction partner selected by Government – obtains planning permission for the proposed development this summer.
The next step will see detailed design meetings take place between Oldham Council, Saddleworth School, the EFA and Interserve to draw up vital works needed in Diggle.
These include carriageway and footpath widening works, the introduction of a School Safety Zone, the development of a residents’ car park and fencing work.
Councillor Amanda Chadderton, Cabinet Member for Education, Employment and Skills, visited the site to discuss plans with Matthew Milburn, headteacher at Saddleworth School.
She said: “It’s excellent news that we now have the necessary legal agreements in place to deliver a new Saddleworth School in Diggle.
“The meetings that will be held next will take around eight weeks to complete and they will be absolutely vital to this project.
“We know some people in the local community have expressed concerns about the plans. It’s our challenge to come up with a scheme of associated works that can deliver the best possible solution – and we are passionate about succeeding in that task.
“We know we must work hard to get the detail right in order to deliver a modern new secondary school that works for Saddleworth.
“Once the proposed works and designs are drawn up we will, as we have always promised, share these with the public for feedback before any planning application is submitted by Interserve.”
Matthew Milburn added: “Saddleworth School is an important institution but the local community is equally important to us.
“Our technical group is looking forward to playing a full part in these discussions and helping to ensure the proposed improvements and designs offer the best possible outcome.
“This will be a very challenging phase of the project and one that we are all committed to getting right.”
The announcement by Oldham Council has been met with a mixed reaction by locals and councillors.
Brian Lord, chair of Saddleworth School Governors said :”I’m absolutely delighted the situation has been finally concluded.
“Contrary to popular opinion, the EFA did send a surveyor to look at the Uppermill site and he said you could build a school if you could stand the cost.
“The EFA did not price those plans up because they had made the decision not to it build in Uppermill because it was not cost effective.
“It would also have taken eight months longer to build in Uppermill and caused tremendous upheaval for the children. It was a none starter.”
And he stressed moving Saddleworth School to Diggle would not alter the catchment area, which means anyone with a Saddleworth address will have priority for their children to attend the new school.
But Mike Buckley, campaigning independent Saddleworth Parish Councillor and spokesperson for the Save Diggle Action Group, pledged to continuing fighting for a school in Uppermill.
He said: “The press release contains no new information and reiterates OMBC’s determination to press ahead against all odds with building the new school in Diggle.
“It is alarming no detailed survey of highway conditions or pedestrian access has been yet been carried out and this seems unlikely to take place in advance of planning permission being applied for.”
He continued: “The whole issue of sports pitches is still up in the air, with no statement as to what will be provided at Diggle and where the pitches will be located.
“Flood defences and the destruction of the nesting sites of protection of species also remain unresolved problems.
“Diggle is a high risk strategy, and a totally unnecessary high risk. It has now been accepted that the only substantive reason why the new school cannot be built on the existing site in Uppermill, is value for money.
“But no detailed costings of either proposal have yet been carried out and OMBC refuse to publish any information on the costs of building on either site.”
And he declared: “Opposition to the Diggle proposals is growing by the day, not just from Diggle residents, but also from residents and businesses in Uppermill, Greenfield and all over Saddleworth.
“The campaign to build in Uppermill will go on and we still hope reason and common sense will prevail in the ranks of Oldham Council.”
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