Jobs, not housing, on Wooler school site is the goal

Wooler First School moved onto the Glendale Middle School, freeing up its former site.

As previously reported, at the July meeting of Wooler Parish Council, members discussed the future of the site, which is vacant following the first school’s move to the Glendale Middle School site.

They heard two possible options for the site – the Glendale Gateway Trust proposed a community asset transfer of the land for a housing scheme, while Peter Greenwood, who has a small development company, is looking at the site for a crematorium.

At the August meeting, Coun Anthony Murray proposed that a specified area, possibly half the area of the current graveyard, be transferred by Northumberland County Council for this purpose and the remainder of the site be left on the open market. This was backed by a majority of members.

Couns Rosanna Reid and Alfreda Hindmarsh were in support of the land for the graveyard, but felt that the Trust’s proposals for community-led housing development would be of most future benefit to the village.

The other members felt that there were more than enough housing resources in Wooler and that employment should be the top priority for the village.