Steve Carey's Leader's Column January 2006

7.22.00pm GMT Sun 1st Jan 2006

May I take this opportunity of the first column of 2006 to wish all the Gazette's readers a very happy, prosperous and healthy new year as well as welcoming Mike Usher to this page in his new capacity as the Leader of the Labour Group. Leadership changes seem to be all the rage at the moment!

But this year has also started with a major shock to the local schools. The debate about the number of secondary school places in the north of the borough has raged through the council chamber and the columns of this paper for some years.

The decision was to build a new secondary school in Ruislip. The Liberal Democrats initially supported the building of a new school but as plans we being drawn up we raised concerns about the estimated pupil numbers and the fact that other schools locally were planning to appeal to the Government to expand their size.

With such uncertainty we called for the development of the new school to be put on ice for a year so that the whole project could be reassessed. Labour and Tory councillors rejected this rational approach and ploughed on with the £20 million pound scheme.

The news last week that Haydon school has won government approval to expand by 50 extra pupils a year has vindicated the Liberal Democrat approach.

For the next three years Haydon will swallow up about one third of the money the council has for building improvements in all schools across the borough. There is already talk of a massive over supply of school places which will inevitably lead to discussions about closing a school.

We have been here before. Some readers will remember Southbourne School in Eastcote. The only secondary school in the borough built on one level and ideal for disabled access (the council is now spending millions to improve disabled access to schools). Yet the Tories closed it and Labour sold off the site for housing.

Surprise, surprise, with the housing came families with children who needed a school.

Some people never learn.