School merger plan under fire after public backlash

By ALEC DOYLE Local Democracy Reporter

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“WE have always been the forgotten area - Saltney Ferry has no shop, no bus service, nothing and now a proposal to close the school.”

This stark comment was one of many submitted via a public consultation that has raised concerns among councillors about education provision in the town.

All three Saltney primary schools are subject to proposals to close or merge - plans which have been universally rejected by the community.

At a special meeting of Flintshire County Council's Education, Youth and Culture Overview and Scrutiny Committee, councillors raised concerns about one particular plan - to amalgamate Saltney Ferry CP School and Saltney Wood Memorial CP School.

They would be replaced with a £12.5m primary school for 315 pupils on the site of Saltney Wood Memorial CP School.

Flintshire’s Chief Officer for Education and Youth, Claire Homard said: “This proposal addresses a significant number of challenges faced in the Saltney area to ensure a sustainable and high quality educational offer for the future.

“Our focus is reducing the number of surplus places which diverts resources away from frontline delivery to pupils, improving the learning environment, securing excellent leadership to deliver the highest quality education, to make sure we can deliver a full curriculum offer and maximise the investment through the Sustainable Communities for Learning programme. It is an ambitious vision but we're confident it will deliver a long-term, sustainable model, particularly in terms of our commitment to net-zero, with improved learning facilities to support all learners to achieve their potential.”

Cllr Fran Lister supported the idea of modernisation but expressed concern about the impact in Saltney.

“It feels Saltney is getting quite a bashing in this process” she said.