Sidmouth: Councillor calls on government to 'act now' to save Tipton St John Primary School

Councillor Jess Bailey has written to a government minister calling for Tipton St John Primary School to be relocated following flooding at the site last week.

When she arrived at the school at 8am on Thursday 21 October, she said that she was 'shocked to see just how much water was on the site.'

The school has seen numerous incidents of flooding over the years.

Cllr Bailey has written to Baroness Barran, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Education, saying that there is an 'urgent need for the government to fund the relocation of Tipton St John School within Tipton St John' and the Environment Agency 'advises that the site floods to a dangerous level – and has described the flood risk as life-threatening to all users'.

Jess Bailey said: "It is vital that the government funds the relocation of Tipton St John school within the village of Tipton St John. This intolerable situation has been dragging on for years and the government needs to do the right thing. There is an established 'risk to life' from flooding, which is a matter of huge concern. The government must act now.

"It is ridiculous that the government has previously not taken into account flood risk when deciding which schools to fund. This has meant Tipton St John primary school has missed out and was not one of the 100 selected schools. This must change for the next funding rounds.

"It is not a matter of 'if' it is a matter of 'when and how bad' the next flooding incident will be at Tipton St John School. I am very fearful of what this could mean for teachers and pupils as there is a clearly established 'risk to life'.

"I hope that Simon Jupp our MP will support the change in selection criteria to including flooding, and will support the relocation of Tipton St John School within the village."

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