Mounting pressure is building on Reform UK to confirm its position regarding the unpopular Windsor Apollo Academy school project in Birchills, Walsall, as the full council meeting on July 27 approaches. Two questions have been submitted by a local campaigner and former councillor, and a notice of motion has been lodged by opposition group leaders.
Background of the Controversial School Project
In 2017, the Department for Education (DfE) announced plans to construct a £50 million, 1,000-place school on Reedswood Park woodland. Planning documents published earlier this month confirmed details of the Windsor Apollo Academy, which will result in the destruction of 13.7 acres of woodland. Ecological surveys conducted in the area identified 30 different bird species, nine species of bat, six reptile species, and at least half a dozen types of mammals.
Despite this, consultants appointed by the DfE described the open space as 'poor quality' and argued that the proposed benefits outweigh the 'limited harm'. A decision on the planning application is expected in September 2026.
Residents' Concerns and Opposition
Residents have fiercely opposed the plans not only due to the loss of green space but also over the chosen access route, Reedswood Lane. Locals report that the residential street is often congested and reduced to a single track due to on-street parking on both sides. Unanswered questions remain about why other vacant schools in the area were not considered for the project.
Mark Statham, the former Conservative portfolio holder for children's services prior to the local elections, will ask the new Reform post-holder how the council will fulfil its statutory duty to offer all Walsall children a secondary school place by September 2027. Before the May elections, Reform confirmed it did not support building the school at this site, citing a surplus of school places within the borough.
Earlier this year, when Mr. Statham was portfolio holder, he stated that the council faced a shortfall of approximately 200 school places for September 2027 and that DfE funding is only available for building a new school, not for repurposing or expanding an existing one.
Questions and Motions Ahead of Council Meeting
Mark Webster, a Birchills resident and campaigner to save the woodland, has submitted a question asking the council to explain the rationale for choosing the site, confirm that all alternative sites have been assessed, and consider abandoning the proposal in light of opposition.
Councillors Aftab Nawaz and Khizar Hussain of Walsall Community Independents (WCI) have submitted a Notice of Motion. It calls on the council to recognise that the project would worsen traffic and congestion, confirm that the site is part of Reedswood Park, and note that residents' voices have been ignored by those pushing for development. The motion also highlights that Windsor Academy Trust moved last week's consultation event online, preventing residents from raising concerns in person, and that the trust is advertising school places for year five children within the multi-academy trust.
WCI has called on the Reform administration to keep its pre-election promise of opposing the school and to back it with a public statement. It also asks that, where lawfully possible, the council retract the cabinet decision approving a £1 million capital spend and a 125-year lease to the DfE. When approved in February 2026, the cabinet report stated that if the DfE does not secure planning permission, the lease will not be completed and the payment would not be made.
