Haringey Liberal Democrats have expressed their concern at reports that Phase Two of the expansion to Coleridge Primary School, planned to be completed in September 2008, has been delayed.

The two month delay will come as another major disappointment to parents and children in the area plagued by school delays and school place shortages in the past. Lib Dem councillors are writing to Haringey Council to demand a full explanation of why the contract negotiations took longer than planned and to receive guarantees from Haringey Council that the expansion will not be delayed further.

Cllr Gail Engert, Lib Dem Children and Young People spokesperson, comments:

“Not only do parents struggle to obtain a local reception place of their choice, they now have the added anxiety of whether the place will be there at all at the start of the school term.

“This just goes to prove what Lib Dems have always said: Haringey Council needs a more long-term planning process and not just a knee-jerk reaction to a shortage crisis which inevitably means that places are not provided on time.”

Lynne Featherstone, MP for Hornsey and Wood Green, adds:

“Yet again the Labour Council has shown its inability to provide new reception places on time and on budget. It’s a real let down for local parents and children who just want local school places and an end to uncertainties.”