At the request of the Education Funding Agency, Reading Borough Council undertook a consultation on alternative options for the permanent site of The Heights Primary School. This is an unprecedented step by the EFA as a result of the reaction to its selected site and the limited number of alternatives available.
At the time of asking RBC to undertake the consultation, three alternative options had been identified, all of which were public open spaces. Shortly before the planned start a privately owned site was added to the list and the consultation ran from 30 March to 1 May 2015.
Mapledurham Playing Fields were identified as the most popular option. Of the 4,376 people who responded to the consultation, 3,042 (70%) said they supported the use of Mapledurham Playing Fields for the school’s permanent home.
Reading Borough Council issued lettes to residents advising them of the timetable and process to be followed. A copy of the letter is available here:
To launch the consultation a public meeting was held at Rivermead Leisure Centre on 25th March. This gave members of the community the chance to put questions to representatives of the stakeholder groups that were invited to attend by Reading Borough Council. A full recording of the meeting is available below.