Merton Council criticised for unnecessary secrecy over new secondary school

Merton Council has been accused of being unnecessarily secretive about plans to build a new secondary school in Wimbledon.

Speaking to the Wimbledon Guardian, Cypren Edmunds, chair of the nearby High Path Community Association, said that it was ‘ridiculous’ that residents had not been consulted over notified about the plans.

The new school will be run by the Harris Foundation and is expected to be built on a site on private land near Merantun Way, although the exact location has not yet been disclosed.

Edmunds said: “How can you do something like this without consulting the residents? Decisions of this nature need to include the community. You can’t just plonk a school down on someone’s estate without telling them.

“There is this really, really weak excuse that it’s all commercially sensitive so they can’t tell us anything.

“There are no transparent conversations happening. I don’t know what world these people are living in. I know commercial sensitivity is important but no residents have been involved in the conversations.”

Responding to the criticisms, Mark Allison, cabinet member for finance and deputy leader at Merton Council, said: “Our top priority is to ensure Merton children receive the best quality education close to where they live, and our secondary schools are now in the top three in the country for pupil improvement.

“We have already agreed to expand one of our Mitcham secondary schools. For a new school, we are working with the government on a site in south Wimbledon, which is ideally placed in the heart of the borough, where the need is greatest and has excellent transport links.

“We are at a crucial stage of negotiations with the property owners and therefore disclosure of the site could jeopardise our ability to secure the best value for money for tax payers and ensure we provide the fantastic education for our young people that every parent wants.”

The Council has said that once a final location has been agreed the Harris Foundation will conduct a statutory consultation.