Several Councilors have and are still trying to discredit the Petition against the demolition and rebuild of the Stockton Heath Primary School by saying that it contains addresses from outside the area.
The people have spoken, but are you being listened to?
The accepted guidelines appertaining to a petition state that anyone is entitled to sign a petition if they “live, work, go shopping, visit or go to school in an area”. The Action Group spent only 3 short days on the streets collecting signatures. The Petition was also available in several local shops. The response received, in such a short time, was overwhelming and indicative of the community’s desire to retain this fine building. All members of the community including many parents of children at the school have signed the petition. The petition has been carefully analysed and the results are as follows: -
So lets look at the facts as they stand!
A total of 5154 people have signed the Petition stating…
‘WE the undersigned OBJECT to the DEMOLITION of the locally listed primary school in Stockton Heath
and wish to see any repairs/renovations done in accordance with English Heritage guidelines.’
Over 66 % of these people are LOCAL RESIDENTS OF STOCKTON HEATH!
Here are the latest figures - click on the pictures to see for yourself!
So
- Over 5000 people put their names to save the school.
- 4421 are Warrington residents.
- Of these, 2642 live within 1 mile of the school.
In addition to the above: -
- 204 are from further a field such as Sandymoore, Norton, Runcorn, Preston Brook (all relatively local).
- 383 are from other towns/cities and visiting the area.
- The remainder, are entries, which have been classed as queries (difficult to read or address not verified) and are still being worked on. These may or may not be local.
London - Secretary of State - Petition Handover
Members of the Stockton Heath Primary School Action Group traveled to London on Friday 3rd February 2006, accompanied by Euro MP Den Dover (MEP for North West England). The petition containing 5154 signatures was accepted by Eleanor Van Heyningen at the Department of Culture, Media & Sport on behalf of the Rt Hon Tessa Jowell MP, Secretary of State.
Planning Department - Petition Handover
The original copy of the Petition containing 5154 signatures, along with a substantial number of objection letters from local residents, were personally handed over to John Groves, Development Control, Warrington Borough Council on Monday 20th February 2006.
Planning Decision
On March 20th 2006, the Development Control Committee rejected the plans to replace the school with a new-build by 7 votes to 1.
Most people expected that the Council would then produce what the majority of the community wanted, a sensible and sensitive refurbishment.
How wrong could we be!
They have now gone through a very rushed process, issuing a questionnaire to determine “stakeholders” views, even though they ALREADY have the views of the community and town by way of the Petition.
There is no justification for ignoring the wishes of so many constituents. Is this the type of democracy that the good people of Warrington have to accept from their elected Council? Or is it un elected officials who are the driving force behind this unnecessary scheme?