Conservative proposals for school planning are 'beyond rational thought' says the NASUWT

8 February 2010

Commenting on the media reports that a Conservative government would remove local authorities' planning controls for the setting up of new schools, Chris Keates, general secretary of the NASUWT, the largest teachers'union, said:

"The idea that new schools can be set up wherever parents or other groups consider appropriate such as in disused office blocks, abandoned factories, derelict church buildings and outwith local planning provisions is beyond rational thought.

"That such ideas are driving the Conservatives' obsession with ‘free schools'shows how fundamentally flawed the whole concept is.

"Local Authority planning laws and controls are not unnecessary bureaucracy or barriers. They protect the interests of children, young people and the wider community.

"Planning laws cover important considerations such as standards of building, conservation, design, health and safety, liaison with the police and fire service, road safety, traffic congestion and consultation with local residents. Does anyone realistically think that a secretary of state based in Whitehall could or should manage such a process? Or is the intention to sweep aside these critical provisions as well?

"In the 21 Century, the ambition for our children and young people should be state of the art facilities not a run down flat over the local off-licence."

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