Auriol/Mead school field victory

Tory plans to sell off part of the site of two local schools, The Mead Infant and Auriol Junior, have been stopped by the Department for Education. Conservative-controlled Surrey County Council had intended to help fund renovations and new buildings needed at the schools to replace old temporary classrooms by selling part of the playground at The Mead and part of the school field at Auriol for housing development.

The saga reached farcical levels early last year, when the chairman of the local Conservatives tried to pin the blame for the sell-off on the local RA county councillor, until Lib Dem county councillor Colin Taylor pointed out that in fact it is the Conservatives who make all the decisions at County Hall.

He said: "At the time I was on the Planning Committee considering the building plans. We were not allowed to question why part of the school grounds was not included in the application, even though it was well known locally that the Tories wanted to sell it for housing. I am really pleased by this victory for local democracy."