Work to construct 'urgent' Theale primary school starts

The plan for the primary at North Street playing fields was approved last summer after four years of discussion

Work to construct an "urgently needed" school will start later this week after more than four years of delays.

Plans to build the Theale primary school had collapsed in August last year after Theale Parish Council failed to release the lands for the site.

But after a narrow vote in September, parish councillors finally agreed to surrender the five acres of land to West Berkshire council.

The £8m school is expected to be ready by 2020.

Lynne Doherty, West Berkshire's Executive Member for Education, said: "This project has taken some time to come together, but we are delighted that we got there. We look forward to working with Theale Parish Council and the residents of Theale to create a fantastic community asset.

"The need for a new school is urgent. With the present numbers of village children reaching school age by September 2018, the existing site will become wholly unmanageable."

Theale Parish Council had concerns over the proposed location of the new school and loss of football pitches

The plan for the school at the North Street playing fields was approved by both councils in the summer of 2017 after being discussed for four years.

In a referendum held in March, residents voted in favour of releasing land to begin work.