Legal bid to stop Dales school closures fails (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Legal bid to stop Dales school closures fails

8:00am Thursday 30th June 2011 in Ingleton news By Kate Proctor, Reporter

A LEGAL bid to quash a decision which could lead to the closure of two Dales schools has failed.

Parents fighting to save Ingleton and Settle Middle Schools learned yesterday that their request for a judicial review had been turned down by the courts.

But they say they will not give up the battle and are supporting a vote of no confidence against North Yorkshire County Council’s executive, the body that voted to shut the schools.

Kevin McSherry, of the Save North Craven three tier system committee, said they were disappointed, adding: “We will be appealing to have our case heard by another judge because we so strongly believe the council’s process behind the school closures is flawed.”

This was the first time the county council had faced such a challenge and papers were served to them in June.

The closures are part of the authority’s move to a two tier education system and it cited falling pupil numbers and the financial viability of the schools for its decision.

But campaigners claim their views were not properly considered and 2,000 signatures against the proposals were ‘buried’ in a final report presented to the executive. On Friday Richard Son QC at Leeds Administrative Court refused the group’s request for a review after reading evidence from them and North Yorkshire County Council.

But parents are appealing for an oral hearing where they can give evidence in person to a different judge.

A North Yorkshire County Council spokesman said: “At no time during the consultation and decision making process was any attempt made to underplay the nature of responses and people turned up in large numbers to public meetings and were given the opportunity to express their opinions fully.

“We are quite satisfied that all of the information received in relation to the review was made available to members and given appropriate weight in the reports and that the process was both robust and rigorous.”

The campaign group is now supporting a vote of no confidence to be issued to North Yorkshire County Council in August.