Parents in Tilbury were furious this week when they discovered that dozens of objections against plans to close their primary school had been stamped and filed away without education top brass being told about them.

It was revealed on Wednesday that more than 40 objections gone unnoticed by people spearheading the closure plans.

The blunder came to light after the council announced on Tuesday that a 12-week consultation had resulted in just a single letter of objection.

It said this amounted to "almost universal approval" for its plans to close Jack Lobley Primary School and St Chad's Secondary School in Tilbury and develop an all-age learning campus on the St Chad's site.

Thurrock Gazette investigations revealed, however, the consultations had generated far more objections.

And when the council checked it discovered that 44 letters of objection and the 210-name petition had been filed away and not counted in this final tally.

Rob Gledhill, one of the co-ordinators of a parents' campaign to save Jack Lobley school, was outraged when he heard details of the council's announcement. He said he had personally handed over a large batch of letters of objection to officials.

He said: "It's either misrepresentation or incompetence. How on Earth could they lose virtually every letter of objection from a three-month public consultation?"

On Wednesday the council issued another statement with revised figures for objections.

Thurrock Council's cabinet member with responsibility for education, Carl Morris, apologised, saying: "As soon as we discovered the error, we acted instantly and withdrew our original statement that one written objection had been received.

"The explanation for the error is a simple failure in communication between staff. It is not an excuse for such an error and indeed the matter is being dealt with firmly.

"They had at no time been overlooked or mislaid. The individual processing them had simply failed to communicate their existence."

More in the latest Thurrock Gazette

Published Friday, March 15, 2002