Campaign group formed in bid to save High Borrans outdoor education centre

‘Save High Borrans Campaign’ was launched to preserve North Tyneside Council’s outdoor education centre, High Borrans, from closure by November and from future sale.

The local authority’s decision to sell the centre, which has been in the council’s hands since the 1960s, has sparked outrage since the announcement.

The campaign was established at Chirton Social Club at a meeting held on Thursday night. Those in attendance included Conservative councillors Lewis Bartoli and John Johnsson, Green councillors Martin Osborne and Helen MacKenzie Bell, Labour councillor Rebecca O’Keefe, alongside representatives of the Community Independents, Friends of High Borrans, The GMB Union, and residents.

The campaign will now focus on alternative proposals for the future of High Borrans.

Leader of the council’s Conservative group, Cllr John Johnsson, said: “This campaign is calling on the Mayor and cabinet to pause this decision immediately, open up the process and work with residents, service users and people with the expertise to explore every viable option for keeping High Borrans open. Tonight showed what is possible when people come together.

“Residents, young people, trade unions, community organisations and councillors from different political parties all sat around the same table because High Borrans is bigger than politics. Now it is time for the Mayor and cabinet to do the same, pause this decision, work with us, and let us find a way to save High Borrans.

“Once High Borrans closes, we fear it will never reopen. A unique and irreplaceable resource for future generations will be lost forever.”

Labour councillor Rebecca O’Keefe, who defied her own party by voting for a motion calling for a review into the closure of High Borrans last week, added: “My position on High Borrans has never been about party politics. It has always been about doing what I believe is right for young people and for the future of North Tyneside.

“I simply do not believe we have reached the point where every possible option has been explored. Before we lose a facility that has changed so many lives, we have a responsibility to make certain that every alternative has been properly considered.”

North Tyneside Council’s ruling Labour administration has previously stressed it acknowledges the impact the centre has had on the lives of those who visited, but that it, as it stands, is not financially viable. According to council figures, the site requires around £3m to remain operational, despite £900,000 invested into the centre recently.

A Labour spokesperson said: “Everyone understands why people feel passionately about High Borrans, but emotion alone cannot pay a £3.4m repair bill. Because the centre operates at a loss, that investment and the ongoing borrowing costs would fall directly on the council’s General Fund, taking money away from the essential frontline services that every resident relies on.

“Outdoor education is not ending, with alternative providers having sufficient capacity to accommodate North Tyneside schools, while fewer than half of our schools currently use High Borrans. What is striking about this campaign is that despite all the headlines and political theatre, not a single credible, fully funded alternative has been produced.

“It is easy to oppose difficult decisions, but unless campaigners can explain where the money would come from and what services they would cut instead, they are offering false hope rather than real solutions.”