| Topic: | Is Expanding Durston House School good for everyone? | |
| Posted by: | Dennis O'Shea | |
| Date/Time: | 24/04/19 10:57:00 |
I should say from the outset I'm very much against private education in principle and would readily accept its prevalence in the UK is divisive and chronically undermines social mobility. However we have the education system that we have and lack the funds to build a perfect one. Therefore we have to consider what is best for everyone. The big argument for private education and the general good is that it takes the cost of education a significant number of children away from the state. The provision of a hundred extra places by Durston House will be one hundred fewer than the rest of us have to pay for. There are good reasons for people in the area around the school to be concerned about extra traffic but most of this is not generated by the school rather it is the result of council policy. Traffic caused by the school will be concentrated into two relatively short and predictable periods each day. Having lived near a school myself I know it is just a matter of avoiding unnecessary travel at these times to ensure the impact on your life is minimal. The current application seems to provide the option of more facilities that will be available to the local community. What people shouldn't forget is that ultimately planning applications are decided on the basis of whether or not they are within planning law not whether they have public support. The land belongs to the school and if expansion is turned down they might consider alternative uses that would be even less welcome. |