Full Council will be asked to consider the area of land to be demised to Ken Stimpson Academy as part of the academisation process at a meeting taking place on Wednesday 22 January.
Last October Cabinet was asked to consider a number of recommendations from the Joint Meeting of the Children and Education and Growth, Resources and Communities Scrutiny Committee in relation to the playing fields in Werrington. It was after a decision by Cabinet to fence all of the educational land was called-in for further consideration. At the Cabinet meeting on 15 October, members agreed to:
- Rescind the decision made on 16 July 2024, which agreed to fence the entire field, and refer the matter up to Full Council.
- Advertise the proposal to lease the whole of Area C to the Academy Trust so that any objections made may be considered before any lease of the whole or part of Area C is granted to the Academy Trust.
- Further negotiate with the Academy Trust and the Department for Education, with a view to leasing and/or fencing approximately 60% of Area C for the use of the Academy Trust.
At the meeting taking place on 22 January, councillors will be recommended to agree that all the land designated for education use, including the main school site (Area B), and the school playing fields (Area C) should be leased to the 4Cs Academy Trust under a new 125-year Academy lease.
Members will also be recommended to agree that the council should contribute to the costs of installing a fence and that a Community Use Agreement should be entered into to enable continued community use of the playing fields outside of school hours.
Councillors will also receive a summary of the feedback received as part of the process to advertise the proposal to lease the whole of Area C and this is included in the public report. In total, 232 responses were received.
Councillor Katy Cole, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, said: “We have listened to the residents and the academy trust on a number of occasions in relation to this issue, and both arguments are compelling. We are faced with an impossible situation where we cannot please everyone, as much as we would like to.
“It is for this reason, I suspect, that previous administrations have ‘kicked the can down the road’ for as long as they have.
“What is paramount for me is that this matter has been allowed to rumble on for much too long and it is the students of the academy who continue to be most affected. We must also take into account Government guidance.”
The Full Council meeting taking place on 22 January is open to the public and will be live streamed on the council’s YouTube channel.
You can read the agenda for Full Council here.