By Joe Locker, Local Democracy Reporter
Parents living in a new Nottingham neighbourhood say they are frustrated as the future of an unopened school remains uncertain due to low pupil numbers.
The 210-place Waterside Primary School, featuring a nursery, was due to open in the growing Trent Basin estate in September 2024.
The project is being overseen by the Department for Education (DfE), while the Greenwood Academies Trust had been intending to run the school once open.
In March residents in Trent Basin were informed the opening was put on hold until the 2025/26 academic year.
However, officials have said the academies’ trust has pulled out of the project entirely, leaving the school’s future uncertain.
A letter written by Nicola Whomersley, head of schools delivery for the region, and addressed to Iain Wilson, the chair of the Trent Basin Residents’ Association, reveals alternative uses for the site are now being considered.
The letter, seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), says: “Continuing low application numbers, coupled with a surplus of primary places in the planning area, would compromise the educational experience of the pupils and the school would not be financially viable.
“This means that the proposed Waterside Primary Academy is unable to meet the rigorous criteria set for free schools and so we will not be entering into a funding agreement with the proposers.
“Greenwood Academies Trust have therefore decided to withdraw their application.
“In reaching this decision we have consulted with the local authority and considered the impact it would have on existing primary schools in the area.
“The department will now determine the best alternative educational use or disposal route for the site.
“The local authority is currently considering if it has a need for repurposing educational use of the site that it would want the department to consider.”
Residents met the LDRS in Trent Basin to express their frustration at the situation.
Maria Laura Wandavi, who has a two-year-old, said: “When they created this development they gave the homes one parking space. I don’t have a car myself, so I am now having to buy a car to do the nursery run.
“It defeats the purpose of what this estate was made for. The school being open would have made this a space for the community. We do not have that space for congregation.”
Another mother, Kayla De Beer, said: “We bought our house in September on the premise a school would open here.”
Michelle Hargreaves, who’s lived in the area for almost a decade, said she knows of two families who have now moved out of the area due to the need for closer school facilities.
Dad Owen Hughes added: “It is not acceptable. We just need [the council] to do what they were supposed to do.”
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “Ministers have accepted Greenwood Academies Trust’s request to withdraw the Waterside Primary pipeline project from the pre-opening stage.
“Our priority is to establish schools where there is a need for places and ensure government funding is targeted to where it is most needed.
“The demand for places at the proposed school has not materialised at the rate expected in Nottingham City Council’s basic need forecasts.”
A Nottingham City Council spokesperson added: “The Department for Education has confirmed that the proposed Waterside Primary Academy does not currently meet the rigorous criteria it sets for the funding of free schools and that the proposers, the Greenwood Academies Trust have decided to withdraw their application.
“We are in discussions with the department about the best way forward for the site.”
The Greenwood Academies Trust has been approached for a comment.
