Pendle MP Gordon Prentice has responded to Lancashire County Council’s consultation on the expansion of Whitefield Infant and Lomeshaye Junior Schools, Nelson, which closed on Friday 13 February.

In his submission the MP supports the main proposal to build a new Whitefield Infant school alongside the Enterprise Haven site on Every Street and to refurbish and expand the existing facilities for Lomeshaye Junior School.

Speaking from his Constituency Office in Carr Road, Nelson, Mr Prentice said “The combined infant and junior schools currently on the Norfolk Street site are full to bursting and the numbers of pupils are set to increase over the coming years. It is essential that the quality of the children’s education is not compromised because of overcrowded class rooms and inadequate facilities.”

“The proposal from the County Council’s Children and Young People Directorate offers a successful solution to the capacity problem. Being located at the centre of the Whitefield regeneration area, the new  infants school will form the basis of a valuable community resource, helping to breathe fresh life into this run-down part of Nelson.”

“The long-debated proposals for the Whitefield area stalled again in 2008 when R-Gen failed to secure the regeneration contract. Many of the streets have become derelict after houses were purchased by the local council and have been boarded up for years.”