'We've been stitched up' - Walsall residents wholeheartedly oppose free school plans due to major concerns about traffic, congestion and loss of woodland

Around 70 people gathered at a drop-in consultation event hosted by the Department for Education (DfE) on March 17, where details were provided about the controversial scheme.

Residents speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service at the event raised major concerns about traffic, congestion and the loss of 13.7 acres of woodland.

In 2017 the DfE proposed to build a new £50m free school in Walsall and chose the woodland at Reedswood Park as the preferred site.

The location has faced significant backlash with many questioning why vacant sites at Sneyd Comprehensive on Vernon Way, Manor Farm on King George Crescent and the soon-to-be vacant Forest Comp School on Hawbush Road hadn’t been considered.

Residents living next to the site say they have received no correspondence about the plans at all, with Shokt Fazal, vice-chair of Birchills Agenda 21, describing the project as ‘cloak and dagger’.

The DfE has now confirmed that construction traffic will access the site from the historic Rayboulds Bridge off the A34, and general vehicle access to the site would be from Reedswood Lane which residents have described as narrow and already congested.

At the drop in event on Tuesday, residents spoke repeatedly about poor access, environmental damage, wasted taxpayer money, and the vacant schools.

Shokt said: “Sadly for us it’s been cloak and dagger since 2023 when we first got wind of it. Personally I think we’ve been stitched up by this current government.

“There’s £50m investment coming in, but it’s not going to help the local population. There is plenty of space that could be utilised at Sneyd, the former Hawbush Centre, Manor Farm, and current schools can be upgraded but this is just another legacy project.

“To be brutally honest, it’s going to continue the destruction of the Birchills environment, it’s going to become an even bigger ghetto than what it already is.”

Birchills-Leamore ward member, Councillor Tina Jukes, said: “I haven’t spoken to one person who wants it there. It’s not the school they’re against, it’s the access more than anything.

“The traffic is going to be absolutely horrendous down there. I knocked on every single door in Reedswood Lane, not one person said they wanted it.”

Reedswood resident Margaret Whitehouse, in her late 80s, said: “It’s so wrong. I think it’s been done behind people’s backs. We’ve not been told about any plans. There’s going to be that much traffic you can’t get in and out as it is. There’s no need for it.”

Carol Dolphin, 73, added: “We don’t want it built. It’s going to be like a rat race, they’re going to take all our car parking spaces.”

Scott Simmons, Reform UK candidate for the Beechdale, Leamore and Reedswood ward in the May elections, said: “The road access is appalling, nevermind getting construction vehicles down there. And there’s a school in Sneyd which is closer to Rivers and Goldsmith Academy, which is empty.

“It would be cheaper and more environmentally friendly to restore, rather than destroying a park to put a school here that nobody really wants. Reform will try our best to block any build on the green belt.”

Robin Whitehouse, director of Goldfinch Town Planning Services said: “A lot of people who live locally are very against what’s happening. The main concern I’ve got is that there are existing sites currently sitting empty.

“From a development point of view they should be focusing on empty school sites or repurposing existing schools rather than building on a green field site.

“The proposals appear to be being rushed through at a rapid pace before the local elections against local community wishes.”

Phil Norwood, who has campaigned to save the Sneyd Comprehensive School from being demolished and replaced with housing, said: “This is in the wrong location. It’s all lies what they’re saying about Sneyd. It’s an asset and they’re missing out. It’s in the perfect location, why don’t they just open their eyes?”

Chris Jones, chair of Birchills Agenda 21, said: “This will be the wrong building, in the wrong place, at the wrong time.

“What residents fear now is that all the industrial development is happening around them here. There’s just no getting away from it. Every green piece of grass is being built on.

“As chair of governors at the local school it won’t be long before I’m organising coach trips to take kids to see what a blade of grass looks like because they won’t know.”

Reedswood resident Ursula Walker said: “One of the beautiful things about here is the amount of birds. We know there are foxes, badgers, and all that disruption is not good.

“The longer term projection at the moment is that numbers at schools are going to fall. The next five years there’s a little increase then they’re going to fall again. That needs to be looked at very seriously.”

Martin Lynch added: “This project does seem to be an extraordinary use of public money. Because there is a secondary school that is currently disused, within the borough, and we’re told that actually children may be bused in from the north of the borough when there is already the Sneyd School available.

“Given that times are hard and public money is in very short supply, this is a pretty prolific use of it to build a new school when one already exists.”

Lee Allford, Birchills resident, 63, said: “I’m concerned about ingress and egress from the building as far as parents are concerned. I’m not sure the feedback will be taken on board because the time table is really tight.”

Resident Bill Ellens, 80, said: “The roads are chockablock. We need the trees and the greenery to soak up the pollution because that’s affecting people. Research has said going out in nature is good for our physical and mental health.

“There’s empty schools that they could reuse, so why build something new when it’s not needed? It’s a waste of public money.”

The Department for Education refused to provide a comment to the Local Democracy Reporting Service at the drop-in event, nor has it provided one since.

Councillor Mark Statham, deputy leader of Walsall Council and portfolio holder for children’s services said: “This drop-in session was an opportunity for residents and the local community to have their say. Residents received postal invites to the event, and we’re pleased that approximately 70 people came along to share their views.

“The consultation is open until 7th April, and we’d encourage people to get involved. All the feedback will be analysed and will inform a planning application submitted to the council’s planning services later this year.

“The purpose of the consultation is to advise the general public and local neighbours about the proposed school and to dispel some of the misconceptions about where it was.

“It is not part of the parkland, it is part of an old golf course which is wholly owned by the council. There is no disruption to the Queen’s tree planting, which is to the north of the site. This is all to the east of the site. It’s about dispelling that.

“There were also comments in the press, saying there’s no need and it’s a cash grab. I just don’t understand those comments. The council isn’t picking up anything for it. This is an opportunity, we have a statutory legal duty to provide educational places for all residents of Walsall.

“We have a shortfall at the moment of about 200 places coming up in 2027. We don’t have the capital to invest all that money in all the other schools and ask them to bulge out. It’s effectively asking every secondary school in the area to take an extra class. They may do it for one year but this is year-on-year.”

When asked what would happen if nobody supported the proposal during the consultation, Councillor Statham said: “If there were 1000 people here saying they didn’t want it, it might make a difference, but we’re talking about relatively small numbers.

“We have to look at our legal duty to provide that sufficiency for school places. I know there’s a lot of suggestions about the other school but the capital from the government is not available for the other school.

“Maybe it’s a political entity, it’s not as good of a news story refurbishing an old school as it is building a new one.

“That’s my supposition, I don’t know that. But this capital that we’ve been given is specifically to build a new school. Not for expansions of existing schools. We are restricted on that basis.”