The Conservative-led council has won approval for its North Schools PFI Bid.
While we welcome the success of the bid, the residents of north Swindon have already waited far too long for new schools and related facilities.
The PFI scheme brings an annual cost to the council for the servicing of the finance. The government should consider this additional cost when calculating the future funding of the council.
The Conservative administration must take credit for the success of the bid. A previous bid in 2000 by the Labour administration failed. The notable difference between the failed bid and the successful bid is the political leadership of the council.
Michael Wills MP is trying to take the credit. If he was so instrumental in the bids success, we must ask why was he unable to secure the previous bid?
The PFI package is worth £60million. The scheme includes a replacement for Hreod Parkway, two primary schools, and a learning campus comprising a secondary school, a primary school, a vocational centre, two special schools, community and sporting facilities.
The £60 million is repayable over 25 years. The annual cost of servicing the finance is estimated at £3-4 million. The council must now prepare a detailed business plan and tender for private partners to implement the scheme.
In 2000, Labours bid for a £28million scheme failed.
The situation regarding schools in north Swindon arose through failures to plan and support expansion properly. The north Swindon expansion failed to provide the infrastructure and services required to support the soaring population. The council and the government must not repeat this mistake with future expansion projects, such as the
We should campaign rigorously for sufficient government money to fund the infrastructure and services required to support further expansion in Swindon.