Letters of the week - Saga of new Liskeard school
The front page of the Cornish Times (July 7) has a headline 'New school in Liskeard is turned down'.
This concludes the saga which started in 1992 when the Cornwall County Council applied for outline planning permission to demolish the Grammar School, sell the site and sports fields, less two areas: one for the new Junior School with sports pitch, the other an area of land for the use of residents on the North side of Old Road.
The site for development was valued by Cornwall County at between £3.5m and £4m in 1995. To date, the price paid is about £1m. a 'bargain' with a short fall of £2.5 to £3m.
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When permission was granted, a number of residents submitted amendments to County plans: to build a new infants' school (cost about £1.5m); refurbish the grammar school (£500,000) to be used as a junior school, thus creating an infants-through-junior school on one site, with a single set-down and pick-up point for the parents of the pupils; sell the West St. Infant School site for around £250,000.
The cost of the junior school and infant school would have been under £2m - instead of £4m - when a new infant school is built.
As a result of the decision by County and others, 50 per cent of the sports fields of Liskeard Schools will be under concrete.
If the new infants school is built adjacent to the junior school, the land for the use of residents, in a legally binding 106 agreement, will not be available for the residents of Liskeard, as per the outline planning permission granted by Caradon District Council Planners in 1994.
A COOK
Liskeard