Dept OKs two new schools for Johnstown

New schools for St Stephen's NS and St Mary's Special School could be delivered by September 2012 in the Johnstown area of Navan following the decision by Meath County Council to pursue a compulsory purchase order (CPO) for lands there. The move was taken after consultation this week with the Department of Education which is anxious that new facilities be built as quickly as possible for both schools. A new post-primary school for the Navan area has also been put firmly on the Dept's building schedule while moves to acquire a site for the Navan Educate Together school were also confirmed by Departmental officials although no timeline for delivery on these was given. In a separate move last week, Navan Town Council paved the way for a new 32-classroom school at Athlumney following a decision to contravene the county development plan to allow the building to go ahead. In a special meeting with a delegation from Navan Town Council, held in Tullamore yesterday (Tuesday) morning, officials from the Department of Education outlined their plans for the Navan area, which prioritised the building of the primary and special schools. Welcoming the positive results gained from the discussion, Cllr Shane Cassells who had sought the meeting with the department and put forward the case for the various schools, said: “To get a firm commitment from the Department that they wish to see new schools for St Stephen's and St Mary's built as quickly as possible was great news and we now need to do all we can to facilitate progress at council level.†He added: “I was also delighted that we got a commitment from the Department to acquire a site for Navan Educate Together while the issue of refurbishment and extension works to the traditional schools in the town was also something I raised.†The issue of the CPO move was brought about following consultation between Department of Education officials and their counterparts in Meath County Council. The CPO move could take place within four weeks. Having been briefed by council officials at a special meeting on Monday on the decision to pursue the CPO of lands in Johnstown, a special delegation was put together to meet with Department of Education officials in Tullamore on Tuesday morning. This comprised of Councillors Shane Cassells (FF), Francis Deane (Ind), Jim Holloway (FG), Jenny McHugh (Lab) and Peadar Tóibín (SF), along with planning officials from Meath County Council. The councillors were briefed by Jason Kearney (head of site acquisition) and Tony Dalton (forward planning for Dept of Education) on their strategic plan for Navan. As well as acquiring land in the Johnstown area for a primary school, St Mary's Special School and a post-primary school, it is their intention to pursue sites for Navan Educate Together, Ard Ri CS and other educational requirements. The four councillors and three officials, led by Navan area manager Eugene Cummins, met officials from the Department's planning and building unit to put the case for improved educational facilities in the town. It is expected that the proposed new primary school will serve the fast-growing Johnstown area but also the town of Navan itself. “The news is good,†Cllr Peadar Tóibín said as the delegation emerged from the meeting yesterday (Tuesday). He said that arrangements were in place to proceed with the compulsory purchase of land at Johnstown and this would provide a site for the new primary school, but also facilities for the transfer of St Mary's Special School and a secondary school. He said that the delegation found the Department's officials “in a very determined frame of mind about providing the primary schoolâ€. They had understood the “outstanding need†for the new primary school in view of the overcrowded and poor conditions in the existing St Stephen's School, where Cllr McHugh is principal. Cllr Tóibín said the Department officials had said the new primary school should be in place by September 2012. There might be some “slippage†in that date but he said he got the impression that they would press ahead to get the school in place as soon as possible. “I very much welcome the news that, at last, Navan will get that school it so badly needs. Unfortunately, there was no timetable given for the building of a secondary school. In that regard, we told them that it was intolerable that Navan students had to go outside Navan because there was no accommodation available for them in the town,†he said. The financing of the new primary school will be organised by the Department and, although Meath County Council will be involved in the compulsory purchase of the land, the actual building of the school will not impact on the council's finances.