Reigate Priory: Parents fight plans to move school across town

Reigate Priory is currently in a Grade I listed building in Priory Park, which is in the centre of town

A campaign group is challenging Surrey County Council's (SCC) proposal to move a Reigate primary school across town.

Stop the Move argues that relocating Reigate Priory Junior School from Bell Street to Woodhatch Place will cause unnecessary traffic.

The group wants the current site to be redeveloped.

SCC, which has launched a consultation to ask residents their views on the move, said Bell Street did not meet modern learning requirements.

The council said it wanted to ensure an "inclusive educational offer".

Initial plans were rejected in February 2023 over fears Woodhatch Place would be unsafe for young children and cause pollution due to traffic.

The council bought the site in 2020 for £50m and moved its headquarters there.

'Lots of panicking'

One parent said drop-offs would not work at the new site.

Richard Oldham, who is currently choosing junior schools for his daughter, said the Bell Street site meant you could "manage the drop-off by foot".

"To get to the new site, the round trip is about an hour and a half on foot. It would take even longer by car given the gridlock," he said.

The two sites are about 0.7 miles (1.1 km) apart - which is about a four-minute drive or 16-minute walk.

Mr Oldham said: "Talking to other parents, we are seeing lots of panicking, putting applications into other schools, or selling up and moving because there is so much uncertainty."

Surrey County Council said the current school building restricted "any re-provision or redevelopment of a like-for-like school on the same site".

This meant it needed to secure the long-term future of the school and meet demand for school places.

The council said it was "looking for a solution that would ensure a sustainable, inclusive educational offer that meets the needs of pupils in the primary planning area of Reigate, in the near and long-term future".

The consultation runs until 21 January.

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