THE DEATH knell for a Highworth Primary sounded closer after an agonising council meeting last night.

After two hours, Swindon Council cabinet members voted to consult on shutting Northview Primary for good.

Shrinking numbers of pupils mean the primary is seen as too costly by the council, which proposes to expand Westrop Primary to take Northview children instead.

Parents and other members of the community argued their cases, but did not persuade enough councillors to look at other options.

After the vote, parents seemed shellshocked.

Dad Christopher Mead said: “I am gobsmacked.

“The knife is in and it has been twisted this evening. We had a finger in the dam and it has fallen down.”

He criticised the council’s report on the issue – questioning its quality. ”I have never seen such a weak report,” he said.

For a short period during the heavy meeting, parents were given a ray of hope when two councillors agreed with their views of keeping the school open.

Councillor Peter Greenhalgh – lead member for transport – received a rousing round of applause after saying: “I would be uncomfortable seeing this school close. It is a great school.”

Councillor David Renard – lead member for health, housing and adult social care – also supported the parents’ point of view.

He said the council should look at reducing the number of children going to Eastrop Infant School and Southfield Junior School so Northview could take on more pupils.

But the rest of the cabinet voted to stick to the option of consulting on closing the threatened primary only. Councillor Garry Perkins – lead member for children services said Northview was taking money away from other schools.

“To have a 25 per cent surplus is not giving the best value to tax payers in Swindon,” he said.

“If it means some children have to walk a bit further, I am sorry that is the way it goes.”

Highworth Councillor John Short (Con) questioned why money that would be spent on expanding Westrop could not just be used to continue operating Northview.

He said: “I think we should do a bit more homework on the situation.

“If we can find that money (to expand Westrop) then we should be able to find the money so that Northview stands a chance.”

Highworth Councillor Melanie Duff said: “We are listening to one school but there are three schools in Highworth.

“The whole thing should be taken as a package.”

A final decision on the fate of the school will be made in January.