Demolition hopes on Walsall school
Parts of a crumbling historic primary school could be bulldozed under new plans. Bosses at All Saints National Academy want to demolish parts of the building which date back to the 1960s.
The cost of continuously repairing the building in Bloxwich, Walsall, is too much for the school to afford, however bosses are waiting to see whether they will be given Government funding in order to carry out the work following an application submitted this year. The school had applied to Government for £1.364 million of funding to help bring parts of the school up to scratch last year, however that bid failed.
Since then, MP David Winnick has championed the need for improvements to be carried out at the High Street site, even inviting school’s minister Nick Gibb to see the poor state of the site for himself.
A planning application, which was has been submitted to Walsall Council on March 21, would see part of the site demolished, with three extensions also being built.
According to the application, extensions attached to the school in the 1960s were not built to last and are coming to the end of their days.
The application reads: “Since its original construction there have been numerous extensions to the rear of the school.
“The general appearance of the rear of the school is not in keeping with the attractive facade of the front of the building.
Deteriorated
“The extensions to the rear of the building appear to have been built in a cost-effective manner and subsequently have deteriorated over time and are now in poor condition.
“The cost of continual maintenance of these areas is far in excess of what the school can afford and as a consequence they are falling into a state of disrepair.
“As a result, the school has difficulty in maintaining the original building.
“These proposals are securing the future of the asset by improving the building fabric and making it suitable for use as a school in the 21st century and for many years to come.”
The school was visited by Minister of State for Schools, Nick Gibb, last year after an invite from David Winnick who was campaigning over the issue.
Mr Winnick said he wanted Mr Gibb to ‘see for himself’ the dilapidated state of the building. Mr Gibb spoke openly about the ‘awful’ state of the building during his personal visit.
Speaking on the newly-submitted plans, Mr Winnick said: “I sincerely hope the school gets the funding it deserves so this work can be carried out.
“We are all hopeful the right decision will be made.”
The school was not available for comment.
