School closure councillor accused of 'hypocrisy'

A councillor has been accused of hypocrisy and urged to consider her position over a complaint she made to the government about the closure of a school in her area.

North Yorkshire Council's Annabel Wilkinson wrote to Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson claiming the process to close Kirkby Fleetham Church of England Primary School, near Northallerton, had been "undemocratic".

An opposition councillor said Wilkinson, as executive member for education, had overseen the closure of several schools and contrasted that with her concern over the closure of one in her own council ward.

Wilkinson has been approached for comment.

She had spoken out after the government made a substantive decision to close the school just two weeks after parents had been told of the proposal.

As an academy, the school comes under the direct control of the Department for Education rather than the local authority.

The councillor, who represents the Morton-on-Swale and Appleton Wiske division, said "scant regard" had been paid to the views of the community over the closure.

In the letter to the minister, the Conservative member said her authority had closed schools previously, but this had always been "after a lengthy and very thorough public consultation process".

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Liberal Democrat councillor Andrew Murday said Wilkinson had overseen the closure of at least three local authority schools as executive member for education.

"For those of us who have experience of attempting to overcome school closures by North Yorkshire Council, what comes as a shock is the hypocrisy demonstrated by Councillor Wilkinson when it comes to a school in her own electoral division.

"When [she] and her officers threaten to close a school they carry out a superficial consultation but take no notice of the views of the parents or the community."

Murday, who represents the Pateley Bridge and Nidderdale division, claimed school closures in North Yorkshire followed a common pattern.

"It starts with reports that pupil numbers are falling and the implicit threat to the school's existence," he said.

"Anxious parents protest to the council officers and members, but the threat of closure leads to an exodus of the remaining pupils and the closure becomes a fait accompli."

Wilkinson is also responsible for changes to the home-to-school transport policy, which now only provides free transport to a child's nearest school, rather than their catchment school.

Murday said that policy was likely to cause chaos as the advice to prospective parents as they made their choice of secondary school was misleading.

He added: "As well as incompetence, Councillor Wilkinson now faces the accusation of hypocrisy.

"She should now carefully consider her position as the responsible executive member."

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