LEA asks for ‘crucial’ �56m grant to build Barking Riverside school

THE council is pleading with the Government to unlock millions of pounds to build a school pivotal to the 10,000-home development in Barking.

The �56m primary school planned for Barking Riverside was axed when the national school rebuilding programme Building Schools for the Future collapsed in July.

Barking and Dagenham council said the housing development would be limited to 1,500 homes unless the 630-pupil primary is built.

The Government indicated last year the school could be treated as a special case but the has yet to provide the vital funds.

The Labour council has written to education secretary Michael Gove asking him to make a decision by the end of March so the establishment can open on schedule in September.

Education Cabinet member, Cllr Rocky Gill, said: “There is huge pressure on our schools and in a few years time we will have to turn pupils away.

“Without the crucial funding, the borough’s regeneration and future prosperity will be at risk.”