Walthamstow faces a massive shortfall in school places which will get much worse by 2013 if urgent action is not taken, according to answers obtained by local Liberal Democrat councillors at a meeting of the Walthamstow West Community Council on Monday (1 March).

Council officers told the meeting that if nothing is done 162 reception-age children due to start school in the Walthamstow area will have no school place in September; equivalent to five-and-a-half classes. Currently local schools have capacity for 3090 reception-aged pupils but the projected intake is 3252 pupils.

By 2013 over 500 pupils will not have a school place to go to.

Reasons for the shortfall include increasing birth rates and the number of families with young children moving into the borough. This means many children face being educated in temporary classrooms.

Worryingly the portfolio holder in charge of schools, Cllr Liaquat Ali (Labour, High Street) was at the meeting but was unable to provide any details about how he proposed to deal with the problem.

Liberal Democrat councillors are demanding that the council gets a grip on the situation and produces a credible long-term plan to deliver the school places that local families need.

Liberal Democrat councillor James O Rourke, who chairs the Children and Young Peoples Overview and Scrutiny Committee, said:

“Cllr Ali couldn’t point to a single action he or his predecessor, the Council leader, had taken to ensure local people have somewhere to send their children. It’s time someone got a grip on the situation.”

Cllr Patrick Smith, Liberal Democrat councillor chair of the community council, said:

“The Liberal Democrats have been worried for some time about the increasing strain placed on local primary schools by the growing population. More and more children are being crammed into temporary classrooms. We know that teachers will do their best to deliver high quality teaching but it isn’t fair that children should be expected to learn in these conditions.

“Pressure for school places comes from numerous new developments in the Walthamstow area including an expected 1,000 new families in the Blackhorse Lane regeneration area.”

Lib Dem Councillors joined local residents in calling for the former St James Street Library to be brought back for community use at the Walthamstow West Community Council last night.

A question from a High Street campaign group triggered the Chair of the Community Council to put the proposal to the vote. All nine Lib Dem Councillors in attendance voted in favour and the two Labour Councillors did not vote at all.

It seems that the Labour Councillors did not vote because the Leader of the Council, Cllr Chris Robbins, still wants to sell the building after his plans for a Drugs Centre was thwarted last year.

Cllr James O’Rourke said: “Lib Dems are supporting local groups to access the Community Builders Fund to bring this building back into use to benefit the local residents.”

“Here is a classic example of how Lib Dem policy for Local Management Boards can work. Councils need to be smarter about how they manage their assets. This proposal allows the Council to work with local experts and tap into funding not available to Councils.”

“We thank the Councils Chief Executive for agreeing to meet with the lead organisation and Cllr Macklin for allowing the groups to have access to the building to enable them to make their bid.” he concluded.

Click here to find out more about the Community Builders Fund.

Liberal Democrat High Street ward Councillors, James O’Rourke and Johar Khan, have had confirmation that a report ‘Proposal for the Future Use of the Former St James’s Library Premises for the Drug Action Team’ is to be presented to Cabinet on the 25th June.

Cllrs O’Rourke and Khan have written an open letter to Cllr Liaquat Ali, the Labour councillor for High Street, asking him to honor the commitments he made to residents at the last West Walthamstow Community Council by voting against the proposal now he is a member of the Councils Cabinet. See letter below.

Liaquat Ali_DAT Proposal - 09.06.09

There are six Community Councils covering Waltham Forest and High Street ward is within Walthamstow West. The Council are changing the budget so that each Ward has £10,000 to spend.

Do you have any ideas on how this money should be spent within the community you live?

Cllr O’Rourke says “Come along to the next meeting at the Walthamstow Academy, Billet Rd on the 6th of October and have your say.”