The following statement from Cheadle and Marple 6th Form College has been issued for publication on the web site via Andrew Hubert this afternoon.
I have taken the opportunity to reply asking Andrew if the college will be attending Wednesday's night's Extraordinary Marple Area Committee Meeting (at the college) to answer questions from the local community. I have also asked Andrew if they are not attending to please explain why.
The Statement from Cheadle and Marple Sixth Form College:
The redevelopment of Buxton Lane Campus.
During the past months the staff of the College and members of the governing body have received many comments regarding their intentions to bring their Buxton Lane Campus up to date using funds generated from the sale of our Hibbert Lane site. It has been extremely frustrating for us not to be able to respond to every individual communication however I do hope that those who have written to us will understand that the College simply does not have the resources and the time to respond to every individual in these circumstances. We have however acknowledged and responded in general terms to all communications and hopefully we can now fill in the gaps.
There has been a great deal of misinformation and rumour about what the College could do and indeed about the ultimate intentions of the managers of the College and the governing body. I hope we can explain in this short statement what the College has been able to do this far and what we hope will be achievable in the future.
Everyone will be aware that since the current economic crises started that schools, colleges and most other public bodies have been very badly affected by reductions in government funding and increases in tax such as VAT, our College has suffered additionally because of the number of sites we have had to maintain and because of their general condition. The managers of the College have a very good history in responding to the very challenging economic climate that we have all faced. This is borne out by them achieving excellence in financial management from “Young People’s Learning Agency” (YPLA) in a recent audit. Although the College is in good health it must act to ensure that it has a sustainable future in both Marple and in Cheadle and to do that it must modernise if it is to be able to continue to provide the standard of education our students need and demand.
The management team along with the governors have explored all of the options available to the college and have concluded that its future is in Marple and Cheadle. All other options were rejected and the priority now is to raise sufficient funds to redevelop our Marple Buxton Lane campus.
When undertaking a review of the financing options again the management team and the Corporation reviewed all of the affordable options available to the College.
The College has followed the guidelines laid down by the YPLA in dealing with the disposal and the Corporation has given consent for the sale of the site to a developer. The College is currently negotiating with a large retailer to sell the site to them. The sale however will be subject to them obtaining planning permission for a new store from the Local Authority.
The College has made these decisions for the good of its students, its staff and for the future of the College itself. It is regrettable that those decisions, although supported by part of the local community, they are opposed by others. We do however feel that it must now be left to the proper authorities to arbitrate on this matter.
I sincerely hope that this communication will answer many of the questions raised in the individual letters and emails we have received and that the local community, whether they support or oppose a new retail development in Marple, will appreciate that the College has acted properly in support of its staff and students and in a way which will guarantee its own future in Marple.
The College is currently developing its own plans for the redevelopment of the Marple Buxton Lane campus, and as soon as they are at a stage where they can be shared with the local authority and the local community, the full consultation programme will be commenced.
Lawrie Grant
Chairman of the Corporation
Topic: Statement from Cheadle and Marple Sixth Form College (10 October 2011). (Read 10680 times)