MP blasts council over £180k spend on derelict school site (From Halesowen News)

MP blasts council over £180k spend on derelict school site

4:06pm Monday 24th November 2008

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Labour MP Lynda Waltho has blasted Dudley Council for “an astronomical waste of money” after it was revealed that £180,000 had been spent keeping Cradley High School closed over the last four months.

The Stourbridge MP was outraged that the council has spent £30,000 on boarding up the buildings, £16,000 to date on hiring two mobile changing rooms and electricity generator so that Homer Hill Park can be used instead of Cradley and is shelling out £8,000 a week on security.

“By the end of the year Dudley Council will have thrown away over a quarter of a million pounds. It’s an astronomical waste of money that could have been spent improving leisure facilities or facilities for young people, both of which have been sadly neglected by the council,” she said.

Dudley’s director of children’s services John Freeman said it had been necessary to protect the buildings from the risk of vandalism.

A decision on the future of the site, which could involve demolition, is due by the end of the year.

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