TWO NEW LABOUR CO-OP COUNCILLORS Alan Robins and Anne Pissaridou will be calling on the Green Council to take action on Hove and Portslade’s ticking time bomb for local primary school places, at a council meeting this month.

South Portslade Councillor Alan Robins will be asking the Greens what they plan to do about the shortage of junior school places in the area from 2013; because so far no proper plans are in place and parents may have to travel as far as Mile Oak to take their young children to school.

Wish Ward Councillor Anne Pissaridou will be urging the Greens to clarify the provision for primary school children in West Hove, who either have to travel into Portslade or be taught in temporary classrooms at the Connaught Centre in Hove, with no clarity as to where they will go for their junior stage education.  This is leading to unacceptable uncertainty and a lack of choice for children and parents.

Brighton & Hove Labour & Co-operative Councillor for South Portslade, Alan Robins, said:

“If the Council doesn’t act to provide more locally available junior school places soon, then parents will have to travel as far as Mile Oak to send their kids to school and if they’ve got two kids, with one going to an infant school in South Portslade and one junior child attending Mile Oak, then it’ll be a nightmare to drop their kids off and pick them up on time.”

Brighton & Hove Labour & Co-operative Councillor for Wish Ward, Councillor Anne Pissaridou, said:

“For too long we have only seen sticking-plaster solutions to address the chronic shortage of Primary School places in Hove and Portslade.  That’s why we want to make the Green Council aware of this ticking time bomb as soon as possible, to get some action on a proper new primary school for Hove.”