A NEW Northallerton primary school has had its opening date pushed back by a year after delays on the site.

The primary school was originally meant to serve the North Northallerton Development Area in the town which is set to contain 859 homes with around 120 homes a year being built.

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However, delays in construction on the development area has also resulted in a delay to the transfer of the site for a new primary school to North Yorkshire County Council.

The council have said that it is now no longer practicable to achieve the delivery of the primary school prior to September 2024, something that was originally expected several months ago.

Serving children aged four to 11 the primary school could serve 210 children and have the potential to expand over time if necessary, providing places for up to 420 pupils.

Stuart Carlton, director of Children and Young People’s Services, said the council is continuing to work closely with developers.

He said: “There has been recent progress and we welcome that, but the delay already experienced has impacted on our delivery programme to the point where we no longer have confidence that we could complete the project in readiness for a September 2023 opening.

“We have therefore taken the difficult, but necessary, decision to delay opening by one year. We have liaised closely with Dales Academies Trust on this, and we are very pleased that they remain committed to working in partnership with us.

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On the rising local pupil numbers, Mr Carlton said although pupil numbers were rising, availability of school places is a “manageable situation in the interim period before the new school opens.”

He added: “We will of course keep this under review. While this delay is disappointing, we still recognise the significant growth expected through housing construction at the NNDA and remain committed to providing the school places required to serve the development.’’

The Northallerton school is set to be a state-funded academy, in line with Department for Education guidelines and Dales Academies Trust has been appointed by the Department for Education to run the new primary free school on opening.

Damian Chubb, chief executive of the Dales Trust, said: “We understand why the County Council has delayed by one year and we share their disappointment that this has become necessary.

“The Trust remains completely committed  to the new school. We look forward to developing, at the earliest possible opportunity, an excellent and inclusive provision available to all, offering parents the choice of a Church of England school education at the heart of this new community.”

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A new primary school set to open in Knaresborough has also been postponed until September 2024 due to delays on the housing development site.

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