'Sad day' as council discusses closure of Wirksworth school

A consultation into the potential closure will run throughout September

A Derbyshire councillor has expressed sadness at the proposed closure of his cash-strapped childhood school.

At a county council cabinet meeting on Thursday, members agreed to launch a consultation over plans to close Wirksworth Infant School.

The school in Harrison Drive has been educating children for more than a century, including deputy leader Simon Spencer.

He said it was "a sad day" as he remembered his first day at the school.

The meeting heard the infant school is likely to have a deficit of £128,130 by 2025 as it stands.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said it was proposed that pupils were moved to Wirksworth Church of England Infant School, in Greenway Croft, where the building was in better condition.

The council said the two schools had the capacity for 120 pupils but were only about half full.

A consultation into the potential closure is expected to run from 5 to 30 September.

Mr Spencer said: "It's a sad day. My first day of school was in that building many many years ago."