Council warns of bankruptcy risk over school concrete crisis

A NORTH East council has warned that it would be at risk of bankruptcy if the Government does not help pay for repairs at schools facing a concrete crisis.

- AUSTEN SHAKESPEARE

North Tyneside Council told the Department for Education (DfE) that it would face a financial emergency without support to cover a £30 million bill for renovation works at three of its schools, documents obtained by the Local Democracy Reporting Service reveal.

Weak and brittle concrete was identified as the cause of a partial ceiling collapse at Fordley Primary School, in Annitsford, in December 2023.

Urgent safety checks subsequently revealed similar problems at Hazlewood Community Primary and Churchill Community College.

More than 18 months on from the discovery, the Government is yet to commit any funding for long-term repairs.

And records of meetings between council and DfE officials, obtained under a Freedom of Information request, show that the local authority has repeatedly warned that it could be pushed over a financial cliff edge if support is not forthcoming.

Council staff are recorded as saying that covering the repair bill would put it at risk of having to declare a section 114 notice, effectively a declaration of bankruptcy that prevents councils making new spending commitments.

The council told The Chronicle this week that it is not at "immediate risk" of a section 114, but made clear that it cannot afford the estimated £30 million of repairs needed on the Fordley, Hazlewood and Churchill schools.