Medway Labour have promised to further scrutinise the decision to allow Medway Commercial Group (MCG) to build a Special Education Needs (SEN) school at Cornwallis Avenue.

Whilst the Labour Group have been campaigning for increased and improved SEN provision for a number of years, there are deep concerns about the involvement of MCG.

Cllr Clive Johnson, Councillor for Gillingham South and Medway Labour Spokesperson for Children and Young People said, ‘We welcome the improved SEN provision for Medway and have been advocating the principle of spend to save whilst the Tories have been dragging their feet on the promised SEN review, but the Tory administration are ignoring vital questions. Why were MCG chosen? What makes the council believe MCG can deliver this project? Where is the money coming from? Yet again the Tories are sticking their heads in the sand when they should be standing up for Medway residents.’

Cllr Vince Maple, Councillor for Chatham Central and Leader of the Medway Labour Group said, ‘We called-in this decision because all evidence suggests that MCG lack the expertise and capacity to deliver a project of this scale. There is currently no income stream or repayment plan in place for this project; even the Cabinet report supporting the decision highlights that at least £25m capital funding still needs to be secured. In our experience no other council project of this size and importance has been rubber stamped with quite as little detail and quite as much uncertainty, which is a major concern for us. Most of the questions we asked at the recent special meeting went unanswered so the Labour Group will be writing to the Director of People at Medway Council, in his capacity as a senior council officer and the project sponsor, to get proper answers to these important questions.’

Cllr Dorte Gilry, Councillor for Twydall said, ‘I’m concerned about the suitability of the site itself, the roads around Cornwallis Avenue are congested and unsafe and the roundabout is especially dangerous. Existing infrastructure is not sufficient to support a school of this size; there are currently no plans to improve the existing infrastructure, and there have been no discussion on how this will impact residents, road users, and future pupils.’

Cllr Johnson’s recommendation to the Special Meeting held 12/11/18:

The committee welcomes this proposal for improved SEN provision. The committee resolves to refer the decision back to cabinet for:

1. A detailed account of the range of delivery options considered and a clear statement of why MCG were chosen.
2. Publication of the Business Case and its submission to Overview and Scrutiny for discussion.
3. Clarification of the funding mechanism and its submission to Overview and Scrutiny for discussion.
4. Clarification of which sites were considered for this provision, the mechanism used to assess their suitability, and the reasons why Cornwallis Road was deemed the most appropriate.