Land secured for RAAC school rebuild plan

A school where potentially dangerous concrete was discovered 18 months ago has moved a step closer to a rebuild, after land on the site of a former school nearby was secured.

Most of the 1,000 pupils at Scalby School in Scarborough have been learning in temporary classrooms since September 2023 after reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) was found.

North Yorkshire councillors have approved a transfer of the lease to the trust that runs the school for land about half a mile away.

The site is partially occupied by Springhead Sixth Form College, North Yorkshire Council said, which would not be affected by the move.

The relocation to part of the former Lower Graham School site on Lady Edith's Drive will form part of the Department for Education's (DfE) school rebuilding programme.

Stuart Carlton, corporate director of the children and young people's service at North Yorkshire Council, said: "Our agreement today is purely about our agreement to transfer land.

"This is not a pre-approval of plans around the rebuild by the Department for Education."

A meeting of North Yorkshire Council's executive committee unanimously passed the transfer of land at the former Lower Graham school site to the Coast and Vale Learning Trust.

The committee said that other concerns about the impact of rebuilding and relocating the school, such as traffic, would form part of the DfE's own planning process.

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