HAVING attended the meeting of Thurrock Council on Wednesday, October 29, I came away feeling disillusioned.

I had attended the meeting in the hope of receiving some positive news regarding the proposed closure of Chadwell St Mary Primary School.

Councillor Gerard Rice proposed a motion which stated that consultation on closure should be withdrawn due to Thurrock Council and the Thames Gateway Development Corporation’s new development plans for the area which would result in a rise in pupil numbers.

Pupil numbers have been cited by Mr McCulloch-Graham (Director of Schools, Families and Education) as the main, if not only, reason for closure.

Despite the fact that the Labour, Conservative and Independent politicians who spoke on the issue clearly wanted to stress that they had the children’s best interests at heart, the motion failed ostensibly because of the way it had been worded.

This allowed Conservative and Independent councillors the opportunity to stress their support for the school and local community (thereby ensuring they did not lose future votes) while opting out of actually providing the real support the school needs.

It is not enough that we wait for the Cabinet’s decision on closure in January. The proposal to close the school should never have been made, certainly without considering other (less drastic and less damaging) options first.

This is what the motion was addressing. Quibbling over ‘wording’ in this case came across as cowardly, even hypocritical.

One wonders what is at the heart of the democratic process in Thurrock.

Councillors of Thurrock - A Reminder: Democracy is ruled by the people for the people. It’s not about just voting in line with party whip, or playing games over semantics.

It’s about doing what is right for our local communities.

Our local community is overwhelmingly opposed to closure of Chadwell St Mary Primary School.

Please, people of Chadwell (and beyond), remember to fill in the consultation forms - your views DO count.

Members of the Cabinet have assured us that closure is NOT the only option they are willing to consider and that the decision is yet to be made.

Let’s take them at their word and let our views be known.

SAVE OUR COMMUNITY SCHOOL. Please.

Concerned resident,
Name & address supplied.