New school possible in five years, says council leader (From Watford Observer)

Possible new Rickmansworth secondary school in five years, says council leader

10:26am Wednesday 24th February 2010 in News By Neil Skinner

A new secondary school for the Rickmansworth area could be open in the next five years, a senior local politician has said.

Three Rivers District Council leader Ann Shaw said her council had already recommended eight potential sites to Hertfordshire County Council and hoped to launch a public consultation on the matter as early as June.

Councillor Shaw was reacting to a county council announcement that an £82.5 million boost for school places – announced last week – was likely to include a new secondary school in the Rickmansworth area.

She stressed that although legal responsibility for delivering a new school rested with the Conservative-controlled county council, the Liberal Democrat dominated district council would “help in what ever way” to make the new school a reality.

Negotiations between the two authorities, Councillor Shaw added, were advancing well and a shortlist of sites, including eight proposed by the district council, was taking shape, with a public consultation in June a very real possibility.

She would not, however, reveal the locations of these sites for fear of driving up the price of the land required and causing unnecessary alarm to neighbouring residents.

Councillor Shaw told the Watford Observer: “This funding is not a great surprise. This has been a problem for the last ten years and simply couldn’t be ignored any longer. But this is a step in the right direction.

“We hold another consultation into housing sites in June so it would be good to put a shortlist of school sites in with that. There is no dispute here. We are working with the county council on this and will do whatever we can to build a new secondary school.

“I think it could be done in less than five years if everybody is determined to move this forward.”