Free school frustration

Published: 30 June, 2011

• ON June 23 two members of the Belsize Park Free Primary School group attended the Town Hall meeting, having been refused a deputation time in the council meeting to put their case for a free school at 9 Fitzjohns Avenue, an ex-hostel. 

Camden, under the financial leadership of Councillor Theo Blackwell, have failed to hear the voices of those who elected them and have put the building, which is very suitable for the walk-to-school project, on the market before the free school campaigners have heard from the Department of Education if they have a successful bid for a school, the result of that decision being in September.

It is very short-sighted of Labour councillors not to wait a few weeks more for this decision. Camden would receive the market price for the building from the government and a school, which would solve both of Camden’s problems. 

Cllr Blackwell knows and has known the procedure of central government but refuses to listen. 

We were pleased to hear Cllr Chris Knight support our school plans so we look forward to his continuing support with reassuring the residents of Fitzjohns Avenue that our school will be a “walk-to-school only” school, so we won’t add any more four-wheel drives to the traffic problem.

As a group, we have worked alongside the council to try to get a local primary school for Belsize and Swiss Cottage but to no avail. Now each political party is blaming the other. 

We still have to expect our children to walk nearly 50 minutes away there and back again to get to their nearest allocated school. We wonder how many members in the chamber have five-year-olds and how they would manage this journey to school and go to work.

The whole situation for us is crazy with loads of schools in our area and we are eligible for none. We wonder if anyone in the council knows their electorate exist in Swiss Cottage and Belsize Park?

LINDA GROVE & CHRISTINA MACKENZIE 
Free school campaign for Belsize Park