Students could return to former grammar school

The Dryden Centre was previously Gateshead Girls Grammar School but has since been used by community groups

A former grammar school in Gateshead could be brought back into use after more than a decade.

Gateshead Council said it was in discussions with an unnamed "private education provider" to take over the Dryden Centre in Low Fell, which has more recently been used as council offices and as a community asset.

Liberal Democrat councillor Dawn Welch has called on the council to guarantee that community groups would still be allowed to use the site.

But the council stated terms which allow community groups the right to use the centre "might not necessarily" be agreed", and the final decision would be made by the Labour cabinet.

The Dryden Centre was formerly home to Gateshead Girls Grammar School. It has subsequently housed the council's education office, the town's music service and acted as a training centre for those with learning disabilities.

The facility has been gradually vacated over the past 12 years, with its final tenant, the Cumbria, Northumberland and Tyne and Wear NHS Trust, moving out in March.

One of the site's buildings has not been used since 2012 because of its poor condition, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Housing 'not viable'

Ahead of any handover of the site, Ms Welch has called on the council to ensure provisions are in place to allow community groups , such as the Caprian Theatre Company, to use the Dryden Centre on evenings and weekends.

"If we are going to progress negotiations with a provider then that condition needs to be part of it," she said at a cabinet meeting.

But deputy council leader Catherine Donovan said: "It is your opinion and your argument, but it might not necessarily be the one that is taken.

"That is the way it is."

"We are all well aware of how it has been used by the community over the years and not just by the community of Low Fell," she added.

The council is retaining control over the centre’s playing fields, which are currently used by Gateshead Rugby Club and may be needed in the future for Kells Lane Primary School.

A report by the council has stated the Dryden Centre is "not viable" for redevelopment for housing.