McCann, R (On the Application Of) v Bridgend County Borough Council
2014
ADMINISTRATIVE COURT
UK
CORAM
- His Honour Judge Keyser QC
Areas of Law
- Administrative Law
- Education Law
- Local Government Law
2014
ADMINISTRATIVE COURT
UK
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
Claimant Ceri McCann challenged Bridgend County Borough Council's decision to close Tyn yr Heol School, merging it with Betws Primary School. The court found the Council failed to comply with statutory requirements for consulting on school closures, did not provide necessary information on alternatives, failed to ensure the impact on educational standards was adequately addressed, and did not consult all relevant Assembly Members. The court quashed the Council's decision.
Judgment
H.H. Judge Keyser Q.C.:
Introduction
1. This is the rolled-up hearing of the application of the claimant, Ceri McCann, for permission to apply for judicial review, and if permission is granted her claim for judicial review, of a decision of the defendant, Bridgend County Borough Council, to close Tyn yr Heol School in the village of Llangeinor (“the School”) and merge it with another school, Betws Primary School, on a single site to be shared also with a Welsh-medium school, YGG Cwm Garw.
2. The decision was taken on 29 April 2014 as part of the defendant’s School Modernisation Programme (“SMP”), which is intended to ensure that schools in Bridgend and its environs are fit for the twenty-first century.
3. The claimant is a member of the Tyn yr Heol Action Group, which is a campaign group set up to oppose the closure of the School. She lives in Llangeinor and she and her parents and siblings and children have all attended the school, which she describes as the heart of the village. She challenges the decision on the ground that the defendant failed in material respects to comply with the requirements of the statutory decision-making process that has applied to such decisions in Wales since October 2013.
4. At the hearing the claimant was represented by Mr David Wolfe QC and the defendant was represented by Mr Wayne Beglan. I am grateful to them both for their helpful written and oral submissions, which I shall only briefly summarise.
5. The remainder of this judgment will be structured as follows. First, I shall explain the relevant statutory procedure; in the course of doing so I shall set out significant extracts from the relevant provisions. Second, I shall mention some relevant law concerning, in particular, the requirements of consultation under statute and at common-law and the provision of information to the public. Third, I shall summarise the main facts of the present case. Fourth, I shall summarise in turn each of the grounds of this claim, in the light of the facts and the applicable law. Finally, I shall state my conclusions.
The statutory framework
6. The decision to close the School was taken under the provisions of Part 3 of the School Standards and Organisation (Wales) Act 2013, which for relevant purposes came into force on 1 October 2013. I shall refer only to such provisions and such parts of the provisions as are directly material.
7. Section 40(3) provides: “A maintained school may be discontinued only in accor