East Surrey MP, Peter Ainsworth, has warned that further house building in Surrey could lead to greater strain on local infrastructure. His comments follow reports that pupils from Lingfield and Dormansland Primary Schools are being turned away from Oxted School due to a lack of available places.
Peter Ainsworth said:
“I have enormous sympathy for pupils who are now faced with the prospect of absurdly inconvenient daily journeys as well as being separated from their friends. The fact that Oakwood School offers a good education is frankly irrelevant. It is in Horley and there is no rail link between Lingfield and Horley, as there is with Oxted; besides, there are close and natural cultural, historic and geographical ties between Lingfield and Oxted.
“It is particularly disturbing that apparently neither the school nor parents had been given any prior warning that their applications might be refused.
“I will of course be raising the matter with the Local Education Authority”.
He went on to say:
“The situation with Oxted School is a very clear warning sign the local infrastructure has not kept pace with rapid house building. I accept that there is a need for more affordable homes in the South East, but the simple truth is we simply cannot continue to build houses in Surrey without ensuring that services such as healthcare, education and transport are there to support them.”
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