Education chiefs urged to withdraw Durham academy report

Jul 29 2009 by Neil McKay, The Journal

A FORMER council boss last night urged education leaders to withdraw a report recommending the siting of a £60m academy before a Cabinet meeting on Friday.

Members of Durham County Council’s Cabinet will be asked on Friday to accept a recommendation by David Williams, the authority’s corporate director for children and young people’s services, to build the academy at Belle Vue, near Consett town centre and partly on the site of Consett football club.

But Alex Watson OBE, who was leader of Derwentside District Council until it was abolished under local government reorganisation in April, wrote to Mr Williams saying: “The report to cabinet needs to be withdrawn on the grounds it clearly does not take into consideration the wishes and best interests of the people. The same people which, seems to have been forgotten, the money actually comes from through taxes.”

Derwentside had earmarked a 700-acre site of the former steelworks at Berry Edge, Consett, for the academy and also for a £15m sports centre before the authority was swallowed up by the unitary Durham County.

And at a stormy public meeting in Consett last week, a show of hands by 200 people who attended voted overwhelmingly for Berry Edge as the preferred site.

The only dissenting voice came from officials of Consett football club who believe building an academy on Belle Vue would enable them to replace their dilapidated stadium.

Coun Watson said: “The report (by David Williams) makes no mention of the public meeting which came down unanimously in favour of the Berry Edge site and how this desktop analysis was exposed as an utterly flawed exercise.

“It was stated that we would receive the detail justifying the decisions, such as the fictitious claim that Belle Vue is more central to the town centre and offers greater potential for regeneration. I have continued to request this information from the council and instead I receive a bullet point. I find this behaviour absolutely scandalous from an organisation that should be representing the people.