Decision details

For the Director for Children and Families and Deputy Chief Executive and Director for Corporate Services, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Education (and SEND) to enable the ATS option to proceed by entering into relevant legal agreements with Rugeley Power Limited (RPL), Lichfield and Cannock Chase District Councils, Department for Education (DfE) and Homes England

Approval is sought for a Deed of Variation and relevant legal agreements to enable the county council to elect, or not, for the ATS by Wednesday 31 May 2023.

Background

1. On Wednesday 15 March 2023, in an exempt report to Cabinet, support was given to deliver an All Through School (ATS) on the former Rugeley power station site, subject to the approval of relevant legal agreements.

2.Cabinet was advised of the permanent shortfall of secondary school places in Rugeley following The Hart’s decision to close the Hagley Park site.

3.To remedy the shortfall, increase local choice and provide future capacity for over 2,000 homes on the former power station site, John Taylor Multi Academy Trust (JTMAT) had successfully applied to the DfE to open an All Through School (ATS) on the site.

4.To secure delivery of the ATS, changes are required to the current Section 106 agreement with the site owner, Rugeley Power Limited, through a “Deed of Variation” (DoV) and other legal agreements.

5.Cabinet agreed to delegate authority to the Director for Children and Families and Deputy Chief Executive and Director for Corporate Services, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Education (and SEND), to enter into relevant legal agreements to allow the All Through School (ATS) option to proceed.

Legal agreements

6.Officers have now completed detailed, sensitive and confidential negotiations on a DoV and relevant agreements, which are agreed by all parties.

7.If agreed, and subject to planning approval, the agreements would enable the ATS to be constructed by the DfE. Whilst the timescale is challenging, the target opening date would be September 2025. Each September, the ATS would admit into nursery, reception and Year 7 and by September 2031 there were children in every year group. Its total capacity would be 52 nursery places, 420 primary places and 750 secondary places and 200 post-16 places.

8.If agreed by all parties , the DoV, which would enable SCC to elect for the ATS by no later than 31 May 2023. Upon election for the ATS, the DoV would oblige the site owner to:

a.transfer ownership of the site for the ATS and Shared Sports Facilities to SCC;

b.contribute £13.9m, in instalments, towards the cost of construction of the ATS and Shared Sports Facilities;

c.contribute £1.4m, in instalments, towards the cost of a new access from the public highway;

d. provide access road from the public highway, and all services, to the ATS site.

9.Legal agreements would enable, subject to planning permission:

a. DfE to construct the ATS and Shared Sport Facilities at an estimated cost of c£39m. DfE would fund c£25m, the site owner would contribute £13.9m and the county council would contribute £1m;

b.county council to construct a new access from the public highway (in part by acquiring a small area of land from Homes England at no cost). The site owner would contribute £1.4m and the county council would contribute up to c£1m.

c. As usual, the county council would enter into a 125-year lease with the academy trust. JTMAT.

d. Responsibility for securing the operation of the Shared Sport Facilities on the ATS site would transfer from the site owner to county council.

10.Table 1 shows the county council’s capital contribution of circa £2m towards the ATS, Shared Sport Facilities and associated infrastructure.

Options considered

11.Under the current section 106 agreement, the site owner would contribute £7.9m and a site for a primary school. The site owner would provide an £8.0m contribution towards the provision of secondary places off-site, which would most likely require the reopening of Hagley Park High School as an academy.

12.Without the DoV, Table 2 shows a county council’s capital contribution of circa £11.6m towards a primary school and refurbished Hagley Park. It shows that, without an ATS, Staffordshire would lose circa £24.5m of funding from DfE.

13.From an educational perspective, in March, Cabinet concluded that the ATS would be a better outcome. Reopening the old Hagley Park site would be more expensive, have less facilities and be less popular with families, which may affect its financial and educational viability.