Mouldon Hill - Does It All Make Sense?

Here is an article from a guest about the Mouldon Hill school.  It is worth reading as it gives an overview of considerations that don't appear to be headline topics for discussion.  Anyway here's the blog for you to read.

The people of Swindon are faced with huge public debt.  Cuts are being proposed to services and yet more Council Staff are in fear of redundancy.  Cllr Bluh states that money has to be borrowed for education.

It is a matter of record that SBC received £6,374,000 for educational needs in North Swindon and allocated this in total to the Croft in South Swindon, which now has the luxury of additional primary places, not that Children’s Services would tell you that.  They have just been caught out reporting that all Old Town and Town Centre primary schools are ‘full’.  Children’s services are now off to define what ‘full’ means.  Maybe they should ask North Swindon residents?

On 17^th January 2013, North Swindon Ward Councillor, Lead Member for Children’s services and Deputy Council Leader Renard was asked the following questions by a member of the public:

Cllr Renard, in your recent written response to public questions regarding the usage of Mouldon Hill Country park you stated, “The Local Authority has recently stated that Mouldon Hill Country Park is underused.  However, the part of the park that is the subject of the consultation appears not to be frequented by members of the public as it is inaccessible due to flood defences and the railway line surrounding it”

Question: When you say that the Local Authority has not yet stated the Country Park is underused are you by default saying that the Local Authority will be stating at some future time that the Country Park is underused, ie that the Local Authority has already predetermined the outcome of the yet to be consultation?

Cllr Renard’s response was garbled and he appeared to have difficulty telling his parks from his fields.

Question: If the part of the park that is the subject of the consultation is, and again I quote from your written response “is inaccessible due to flood defences and the railway line surrounding it “ how then does this make , and this time I refer to the report of Cabinet 12^th December 2012, a viable solution for the location of a primary school? Are the children supposed to swim or catch a train to school?

Cllr Renard’s response was that anything is viable if you have the money. 

Cllr Renard, later in that same meeting, stated that North Swindon residents will be offered a school within Mouldon Hill.  He and the Conservative Administration, ably supported by the Lib Dems, rejected investigation of alternative sites.

Cllr Renard stated that only after North Swindon parents had been consulted, would a site feasibility study be conducted . The message appears to be, North Swindon.. take Mouldon Hill or get nothing. Scaremongering or what??

This Administration will have to borrow the money for the North Swindon School. They are going into this with no idea of the cost of Mouldon Hill or any alternatives.

Imagine if the money given in 2009 for a new school in North Swindon had been used to build that school rather than the Croft ? There would be places in North Swindon, reduced borrowing and no need to subsidise 2 new primary schools in Old Town running significantly under capacity.

Mouldon Hill has all the makings of the Croft in that the Administration, and the Lib Dems, have decided they are building a school on open and public green space and that cost will be no object and the public will do what they are told.

SBC plan that Mouldon Hill is a ‘Class Solutions’ model, the ‘flagship’ of which already has guttering and fascia hanging off after the weekend’s snow and it is still not finished 5 months after opening.

On a final note , Cllr Renard was still unable to explain where the children from the 1st 564 Tadpole Farm homes will go to school.