HC Deb 29 April 1920 vol 128 cc1421-2
86. Mr. BRIANT

asked the President of the Board of Education if plans have been submitted and accepted for the building of a school to cost between £3,000 and £4,000 for the accommodation of 40 children in Walberswick, Suffolk; considering the urgent need for the erection of houses, whether the building of the school can be postponed; why is the building hitherto used no longer suitable; and what would be the approximate cost of putting it into a condition which would render it available for some years?

Mr. LEWIS

The Walberswick Church of England School was closed on 13th February, 1917, since the building had become unsafe for further use and the managers were unable to effect the necessary repairs. A week later the local education authority opened a provided school in temporary premises pending the possibility of providing new buildings, first of all in the Primitive Methodist schoolroom, and subsequently in the Congregational Mission room. This is a single room, and there is no playground attached to it, and it is unsuitable for more than emergency use. In January of this year the authority submitted plans for a permanent school. These are now under consideration, and in view of the great cost of the proposal, the Board are making inquiries of the local education authority as to the possibility of reducing it.