£10 million school that announced it will never open has cost a local business jobs

A business that's relocating due to a new primary school that was supposed to open nearby is furious after learning that the school will now never open.

It comes after a new school in near Sneinton will not open because it does not have enough pupils.

Waterside Primary School was due to open in September last year on the Trent Basin estate near Colwick. It has been estimated to have cost £10 million. It also features a nursery, all of which was funded for by Government money.

At the end of December the Department for Education (DfE) decided against funding the opening of the school due to low demand.

Harold Potter Ltd is a crane manufacturing firm from Nottingham. Due to the nature of their business they decided to relocate to Mansfield so that they were away from the new school.

Families have also revealed they would have not have moved to a new Nottingham estate had they known the new school they were promised would never open.

The school was due to be operated by the Greenwood Academies Trust.

Wayne Norrie, who was Chief Executive of Greenwood Academies Trust when the school was first announced said it would provide 'much-needed primary school places for the families in the community'. It was supposed to accommodate 210 students, 30 nursery students and 20 staff.

Both Greenwood Academies Trust and Nottingham City Council say they are in talks to find an alternative use for the site.

A Department for Education spokesperson said:

“Ministers have accepted Greenwood Academies Trust’s request to withdraw the Waterside Primary pipeline project from the pre-opening stage.

“This government’s priority is to establish schools where there is a need for places and ensure good value for taxpayers’ money, with funding targeted to where it is most needed.

“The demand for places at the proposed school has not materialised at the rate expected in Nottingham City Council’s basic need forecasts.”

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