DON’T BE FOOLED AGAIN BY DORSET'S TORIES

DON’T LET DORSET’S CONSERVATIVES OBSCURE THE TRUTH

Toni Coombs’ explanation of the reasons behind schools’ closures in the Purbecks (Letters Telegraph 28.12.09) is reductive to say the least . It is a defeatist rationale, which in assuming that the worst will happen, risks condemning an area which is both vibrant and potentially economically resilient, to stagnation.

Illustrative of this is the current battle being fought in Swanage. One of the largest towns in Purbeck (population 10,000) , Swanage lost its both its secondary schools in a 1970s switch to the three tier system. The town gained a middle school, and 14-18 education transferred to Wareham (population 5,600) – 12 miles away.

Now, following the Government instigated review of surplus places, middle school provision is being taken away throughout the Purbecks – with no offer to reinstate secondary provision in Swanage. Other towns in Dorset which use the two tier system, including the much smaller towns of Beaminster and Lyme Regis, have retained their secondary provision.. There is some lack of equity here .

The argument which attributes closure of the schools entirely to the prevalence of second homes in the Swanage area is disingenuous because, according to research based on different statistics to those used by Dorset County Council, almost uniquely among towns in Purbeck Swanage is actually growing: there is an increased birth rate & a recent expansion in the number of families with young children coming into the town.

Newly Liberal Democrat led Purbeck District Council is proposing the development of over six hundred new homes in the town, (40-50% of which are to be affordable) in future years. All the evidence suggests therefore that the school aged population in Swanage will substantially increase in future years.

The strength of this interpretation is boosted rather than diminished by the response of the community. Education Swanage, a highly competent and eloquent group of parents who have banded together to put the case for secondary provision in the town, are proposing that the smaller part of a split site Purbeck Secondary be sited in the town where it could take advantage of the unique opportunity offered for the study of Earth Sciences by the proximity of the World Heritage Coast and Purbeck Stone Centre. Research conducted by these parents has been of a professional quality item by item to rival that of Dorset County’s officers – but they have repeatedly been given short shrift by Dorset County Council.

David Cameron claims that the new Conservatism supports localism, but here is an example of a visionary and eloquent local community being rebuffed again and again by a Conservative County Council as it presents alternative plans which are financially viable and which deserve to be taken seriously.

In fact, this short-sighted schools’ review will amplify the very effect that it proffers as a cause – desertion of Swanage and its vicinity by families with young children , thereby encouraging its infiltration by second home owners - whereas forward thinking and upfront investment by the council in building a new secondary, working alongside the District council’s excellent programme for employment and housing regeneration, will attract more parents with children to the town, ensuring that it has a working, full time population.

In a rural county where there is plenty of poverty, economic regeneration needs foresight, joined up planning between local authorities, vision to see the opportunities and fortitude in finding and exploiting relevant sources of revenue. All of these have been singularly lacking in Dorset County Council, but are amply visible in the creative vision and determination of Education Swanage, a group which I continue to support wholeheartedly in their endeavours to retain secondary education in their town.

At the other end of the county, it’s a different story. Woodroffe School in Lyme Regis, (population 4,406, school population 1,106) has been rated outstanding in two consecutive Ofsted inspections. Lyme is fortunate in having a visionary Development Trust, which, working with local authorities and the international scientific community is seeking to transform the economy of the town by capitalising on its Jurassic Coast location: the role of the school is central to this development………….if only we could see the same in Swanage.