Delighted Minister for Education has brought forward the new Charlesland Secondary school opening to 2020. I have been lobbying on behalf of the many worried parents who were told they were 80th on the waiting lists for the 2 Greystones Schools. I zoned a 5ha. site for this 15 years ago next to the sports facilities and I have been urging the Department to buy this for years. Currently it has temporary planning permission for use as a builders yard. I expect it will open in temporary facilities. This will…
Education Archives - Councillor Derek Mitchell
Mitchell say need for Charlesland School is ‘blindly obvious’ “When canvassing I have met quite a few people who cannot get their children into Primary School. It is essential that the Minister for Education opens a school in Charlesland, otherwise the town cannot cope with the traffic. Every year they add on classrooms in an ad hoc way in May when there is a shortage of school places. I have written to the Minister and said that from a Town Planning point of view it is ‘blindingly obvious’ that…
Ruari Quinn TD, Minister for Education and Science. Dear Ruari, Greystones School Capacity and Location I think that the Department is not putting the schools in the correct locations and I also get a number of people having difficulty finding a school place. Primary. The new part of the town is in the South (Charlesland 1600 high density homes and other close by estates 800 homes). The new schools are in the North, 5.6km away. The 3 older schools in the centre have been extended, often by getting permission at…
At Monday’s meeting of Wicklow County Council Cllr Derek Mitchell said that there would be complete traffic chaos if it was not built ‘The Council has given permission for over 2,000 school places on this road which has been planned since at least 1987. However no work has been done on the road and much of it does not exist’. ‘3 of the 4 major schools on the road are new (Educate Together, Gaelscoile and Temple Carrig Secondary) and are filling up a year at a time while St. Laurence’s…
Mitchell has asked Department of Education to buy Charlesland School Site I have been concerned for some time that there might be a shortage of school places in Greystones. Two weeks ago I asked Senior Council Officials to persuade the Department to now buy the 5 acre site in Charlesland which is zoned for a primary school. This was zoned 5 years ago and is a great site as most children will be able to walk to it along the excellent foot and cycle paths in the area. The…
Wicklow VEC is spending €8,000 of taxpayers money and state paid staff to persuade people. This is very unfair on the voluntary Educate Together Group which must raise funds for brochures and must rely on volunteers in order to inform people of their project. €8,000 buys a lot of leaflets and publicity. A fair competition should give the same amount of taxpayers money to each group. The new Secondary School at Blacklion in Greystones is scheduled to open in 2014. Currently a number of school patrons are running campaigns to…
14 new Secondary Schools were announced by the Department of Education including one in Greystones. This is expected to open in 2014 on land bought by the Department of Education in Blacklion below the 2 Primary Schools. In recent years Greystones population expanded 40%. Two years ago I did a study on where pupils went to school and this showed that Greystones is unique, in Ireland, as 60% of current Secondary pupils go to school outside the town. I believe that the best chance of persuading people to stay in…
Press Release Cllr Derek Mitchell supports Educate Together Secondary School in Greystones
The IDA is asking to change the planning status of its 70 acres in Greystones which is zoned for industry. They have owned this land for 25 years but have ignored it and produced no jobs on it. The present work on the site putting in roads, telecoms and other services is very positive. I believe that the next secondary school, which will be needed in a couple of years, should be on this site next to Charlesland where many young children live. I have asked the Council to leave…
The IDA presented its plan for its 80 acre site to Greystones Town Council on Wednesday. They intend to develop the section next to Charlesland by putting in a road next January and seeking tenants. The next section they intend to sell off to a developer of Industrial sites and at Mill Road they want to rezone for Town Centre which would allow a Shopping Centre. The IDA has owned this site for 25 years and has done nothing with it except grow grass. There has been no political will…