Plans to reopen a mothballed school to ease the growing pressure on classroom places have been dealt a severe blow after vandals smashed up the building.
Education chiefs hope to re-instate classrooms at All Saints Primary School in Kennion Street, Little Horton, Bradford, which has stood empty since the new £4.1 million All Saints Primary opened in nearby Little Horton Green in February 2009.
But when the condition of the disused school was assessed, it emerged that lead had been ripped from the building, pipes and roof slates had been stolen and there was evidence that the outdoor toilets were being used for “inappropriate liaisons”.
A new planning application, submitted this week, proposes the reinstatement of five classrooms in the old church school building as an annexe to the new school. It is expected to increase the number of post-nursery places from 420 to 630, said a spokesman for the Diocese of Bradford, which owns the land.
However, Bradford Council will first have to sort out problems of repeated vandalism, theft and trespass plaguing the site.
A report submitted to the Council said: “The external toilet block has been redundant for a number of years and has become somewhat dilapidated and a target for vandals. It is also used for unauthorised liaisons.
“It is proposed to demolish the block and surface the area as an extension to the existing restricted play area.”
If approved, the plans would involve the demolition of the block and the construction of heavy-duty fencing and gates around the school.
The moves are designed to keep out trouble-makers when the school annexe is re-opened.
Bradford Council leader Councillor Ian Greenwood, who is chairman of governors at All Saints, said: “We feel that one of the options is to re-open it as an annexe. There is a lot of pressure on schools because of the shortage of places.
“When you leave a building empty it tends to get vandalised. We are going to have to put that vandalism right because we need it for the children.”
Councillor Ralph Berry, children’s services and education portfolio holder, said there was not yet an exact figure for the cost of bringing the school back into use. But he said it would run into hundreds of thousands of pounds.
He said: “The capital programme has been cut to pieces and the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme has been slashed. It is the best we can do with the resources available.”
Clive Sedgewick, director of education for the dioceses of Bradford, Leeds and Ripon, said once the annexe was re-developed it would be a “vital and integral” part of the new school. He said: “It will be a phased building programme. The intention is the first phase will be completed by September this year.
“As it’s a listed building, the outside can’t be changed but it will be made as secure as possible. And by becoming fully occupied as a school again, we hope the vandalism will diminish.”
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