You may have seen in the Shrewsbury Chronicle lately the coverage of our campaign to save Shrewsbury Sixth Form College from Co-locating to London Road.

Please visit our website www.shrewsburysos.co.uk and sign our online petition.

We need your support and every signature counts.

Please tell your friends to do this too!!!

Claremont Bank and the area of the sixth form college are pretty packed with people during term times and it can get somewhat 'roudy' at lunchtimes with overloud vehicles playing very selective, expletive music. I'm not sure if it is the ideal place for a college really. The London road college has room for expansion and is better placed on a local bus route, has playing fields and is much more accessable for car parking

I appreciate your comments and opinions - but if the LSC used the money they are proposing to waste on co-locating, we could build better facilities and make improvements to the site so that the students have better places to go at break times and lunch times then they wouldn't be hanging around!
There is also the transport issue - the college is in walking distance of the train station at present but if we move they will have extra bus journeys to college which will cost them more money and also create a huge amount of traffic on London Road, and residents there are already concerned about the volume of traffic as it is. From recent surveys students have already stated that if they had extra costs and journey times then they probably wouldnt have chosens SSFC in the first place - which is not good for the college - we want to keep our reputation not lose prospective students!!

I would have relocated it to the green fields beside the Guildhall, if enough sandbags could be found to protect it in flood season :-). At any rate, the square mile inside the river loop can't really accommodate SSFC anymore (probably never could), so it needs to move, although London Road can justifiably be seen as too far out. Ultimately, I think the current location isn't practical, and for residents inside the square mile - like me - it can be an active annoyance at times.

I would have also thought that in our congestion, traffic ridden town, it would help ease the daily 'clag' of traffic if the site was relocated.

sorry but i went to 6th form and i think it would be better if it was moved out of town based on my memories of being there. and i also agree that the kids tend to think they are immune to large metal objects travelling at speed towards them!!

I appreciate your comments but if the money the LSC are proposing to spend on a new building was used to improve the old one and provide better facilities then the kids wouldn't be hanging around so much - and also the speed limit is 20mph anyway so vehicles shouldnt' be speeding along that road in the first place.
By moving the college out of town is simply transferring the problem elsewhere, not solving it. London Road is also very congested in the mornings and the residents don't want the volume of traffic this will create any more than the residents in town do! The volume of traffic will still be the same as the students will simply catching more buses so the town will be more congested with buses which is worse. The amount of buses needed to transport over 4000 students would be immense!

Ah, I know where London Road is now - where the kite festival is held :)

I'm not sure I am convinced by your traffic argument. You seem to be saying that these kids currently walk to the college but now they are going to have to get buses out from the centre to London Road. That doesn't stack up for me. Especially when one of your points on your website contradicts you by saying parents will now be worried about these kids having to walk and cycle to the new location. I think the reality will be that some who currently walk will now have to get buses, and some who get buses will now be able to walk, and some will continue to get buses, and some will continue to walk. ie, status quo.

Also, you quote 470 new parking spaces at the London Road site as not being adequate. Does this mean more than 470 cars currently parked in the town centre belong to college staff/students!? Or do you mean that most stadff/students are sensible and currently use the park and ride, but will not be able to at London Road?

Your argument seems to be heavily focused on the negative impact of the college in the new location. But by arguing that, you have to concede that the college already exists, therefore the same problems already exists in its current location. You should argue more that it is a pointless move. If indeed it is?

[FONT=Arial]Ok but i'm not so sure the resident of London Road would agree with you on that!!
Our surveys have already proved that students would not want to come to SSFC if it was located on London Road with SCAT - we have an awful lot of students who travel quite a journey to get here, if we move then they will not be able to get there so easily, it will involve extra journey times, extra costs and an extra bus journey which they obviously don't want to do, therefore they will not come to SSFC which is such a loss to their education - all for the sake of moving. As a taxpayer, i'm not so keen on paying more tax just to subsidise the costs of the council putting on an enormous amount of buses every day just to serve the colleges. I would rather my money spent on improving current facilities and securing children's education!

I'm sure they wouldn't either, but my point is, for every annoyed resident near London Road, there would be a happy one near the currently location.

Am I looking at the wrong London Road!? Is it the one that meets the A5, runs parallel with Wenlock Road? You keep saying unmanagebly longer journeys to the new location. Isn't London Road about 5 minutes drive from the current site? Maybe 10 minutes. So anyone coming from South, West and arguably North of the town will actually find it quicker to get to the London Road Location.

I would agree with you about tax being spent on buses, but I don't see why you feel there will be extra buses?!!?

PS I'm not trying to be antagonistic, I'm just trying to understand your argument.

[FONT=Arial]Yes that is the correct London Road but i am meaning the students that currently travel by train (which there are an awful lot) will have to get a bus from the centre to London Road whereas they can currently walk to college from the station. We have done surveys and student dont want the extra travelling time or cost of catching buses to London Road.
There will definately be more buses to London Road as there will be over 4000 students then making their way to London Road rather than the current number which is considerably more! So more buses will be provided to get them to and from the College as the current bus service is not able to handle these numbers.

I have great reservations about moving the 6th form out of the town, but can also see that the money granted for a new college would be too good to miss.

For:

1)The town benefits hugely from the trade.

2)The town will become even more an 'oldie' place in the day and lose vibrancy.

3) It is much better for students travelling in by train to be able to walk to college.

4)It is better for the students to have the facilities of the town close by.

5)It is 'greener' not to have to bus the students to college.

6) The 6th form has a very good academic record.

Against:

1) The money to put towards the college will be lost.

2)The new college will be purpose built, energy efficient and could be linked with a university perhaps?

3)Academic and skill based courses can be studied together.

4)The present building at London Road needs replacing and the premises used by the 6th form are in need of upgrading and are all over the place.

To me it all seems to be about the site.

I would prefer to see Wakeman becoming the new 6th form and a new building on London Road incorporating a secondary school and further education college for pupils who are more orientated to practical , skill based professions like building construction, running small businesses, hairdressing, catering, media studies, computing, childcare etc etc.

This would keep the 6th form in the town, close to the railway station, theatre, shops, swimming pool and prepare students for moving on to university which can be a culture shock when from a small town.

Having lost the football stadium, the town has already lost a great deal of potential trade.

These are my thoughts with one son presently at 6th form, a daughter about to go there and a younger son at secondary school not decided at present.

ah, that makes more sense. Thanks.

I used to walk from the column to the station at rush hour and it only took about 20 or 25 minutes and I'm not particularly fit. But I concede it is a bit too far to expect them all to walk. I wonder whether the Meole Park and ride could do some kind of deal. It is never busy coming back out of town at that time. It would get them from the station to Rea Brook roundabout. The college would be walkable from there! Admittedly it couldn't carry 4,000 of them :)

What percentage/number of students do you envisage coming in by train? How many now, how many in the future? If you have and are able to share those figures?

Thank you

I'm not sure I follow the logic about the town losing potential trade in the same way as it did when the Gay Meadow moved out. A sample footie fan who wants to do some shopping at Woolworths or WH Smith's before the game, for example, will not actually have taken his or her business elsewhere. The next nearest one of these two shops must be 20+ miles away from here (Bridgnorth? Whitchurch? Telford?). I'll be surprised if it means much of a drop in anything more than the previous
casual trade.

I'm a town centre resident as well, and I have to say that I like having the sixth form college nearby. It adds a bit more life and atmosphere to the Quarry and to the area around. It seems to make more sense to me for it the college to be within easy walking distance of the rail and bus stations, given that it has a much wider catchment area than the built-up area of Shrewsbury itself.

Looks and practicality are two different things TW. I indeed like seeing the quarry full on a summers day of people 'chilling-out'. I believe you commute to work . I can tell you it is a bit of a nightmare both traffic wise and volume of people swarming through the Mardol and Market areas of town in the mornings and at lunchtime very often dodging traffic as they walk. It would be far more practical if these scholars had their own self contained campus and werent having to avoid town traffic in their breaks. It would definately reduce congestion as I would say the majority of young people who use the college use cars judging by its jam packed Car park. It looks like the council have the sixth form college earmarked and I fear the quarry swimming pool complex may be next!

I think TW has hit the nail on the head. The 6th form in town give the place a bit of life.
Although I merit the catagory, I hate to think of this town as Saga Shrewsbury! :(

Another option would be to build the new college on the earmarked for housing greenbelt at Sutton/Meole near the stadium. This would be near the park & ride, would give even more reason for there to be a rail stop and could link with the two secondary schools nearby and the business park.

BTW you ask any of the town traders Rhassaris, and you will be assured that the students have big spending power in the town.

Just an update there will be students and staff from Shrewsbury Sixth Form College handing out leaflets on Pride Hill on Saturday between 11am and 1pm - if anyone has any questions they would like answering then they will be more than happy to oblige. Also if anyone out there feels strongly enough to help the campaign please let me know - we have many leaflets that needs distributing etc. Thanks to those of you that have already signed the online petition on our website www.shrewsburysos.co.uk but we still need lots more. Please encourage everyone you know to sign this as we need as many signatures as possible.

COME ON PEOPLE - WE HAVE OVER 600 SIGNATURES NOW BUT WE STILL NEED ALOT MORE. PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE www.shrewsburysos.co.uk AND GET YOUR NAME ON OUR PETITION - ITS THE ONLY WAY TO MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD.

Has it occured to you that some people may want the site to re-locate and thats why you are not getting support?

There is only a minority of people that we have spoken to that actually want this to go ahead. There are an awful lot of staff and student at the college that are afraid to sign as they are concerned about their jobs etc

No disrespect but a majority is certainly not 600 signatures in relation to the population of Shrewsbury

I said it was the majority of people we have spoken to - not the majority of shrewsbury. As I said previously an awful lot of staff and student are afraid to sign the petition.

As a Disabled person who uses a mobility scooter I would welcome the move as I find a large majority of the student population have no regard for the Disabled when we are attempting to negotiate Pride Hill a lot of them dont realise a scooter only goes forwards and backwards it does not "sidestep" and although I welcome the idea of a young nubile female sat on my lap I draw the line at blokes!! So I for one will not be signing your petition!! :D

No problem my friend your opinion is greatly respected

Just as an update to you all, we now have over 750 signatures on our online petition and over 1,000 signatures on our paper signatures. Please, please sign our online petition if you support us, you can find it on our website which is www.shrewsburysos.co.uk

Thank you to all those who have already shown their support - please encourage your friends and family to do the same!

I have no opposition to the sixth form moving.

And do you have to keep using that big blue text?! :blink:

Yes!

Hmm... good luck with your campaign... :rolleyes:

I have heard rumblings this are (sixth form college) is set aside for development for tourism. I think it needs to move personally. The London road site has far more potential

The Priory Road area of town could become quite a development site in a few years time with both the sixth form and swimming pool going (well, being replaced in the case of the swimming pool).

More 'posh' early retirees, this town will become a morgue by 2020. Look at the Dingle. In the '70s was a nice place to sit, little children could use the secret pathways, a thatched roofed building added to the magic.

Now the 'Shrewsbury in Bloom' gardeners/police would shoot (excuse the pun!) any small person daring to run or shout in the bushes ( I know I went with a primary school group a few years ago!)

The endless ghastly benches with dead people names on the back (contribution to the SABC coffers no doubt) cluttering up the place weren't there 30 years ago either. Might as well go to the cemetery for lunch break!!!

Yes the new college would be fab but the loss to the town of anyone under 40 during the day might be a BIG mistake IMHO.

Well, you may have a point, but...

Interesting that you would use that PRECISE negative reference to "early retirees", just after I used the phrase to describe myself in an introductory post. Or maybe I should be flattered you would consider me "posh"? If, by that, you mean 4th generation Shrewsbury (10th Generation [sic!] Shropshire) you MAY have a point. Amusing though that I was raised in a (what is now described!) as a "Chavvy" area. Guess I didn't do too badly then... :lol:

But then I am perhaps more circumspect in my generalisations over "deciding" who could/should be MY neighbour? Remember e.g. that people "retire early" for MANY reasons. Not all are economically inactive, nor spend their time sitting on park benches, lamenting the past. I fail also to see any connection with, what appears to be a personal "spat" with some snotty park-keeper (Did you complain at the time?), nor the sundry other gripes. Simply: "Not Guilty, your Honour"! :P

Anyway, I leave you to your thread (and perhaps forum LOL). Clearly, as a non-resident, I have no opinion on THIS issue. My apologies for the off-topic excursion. I do like to answer (potential) critics who MIGHT use "other threads" to speculate (unfairly/incorrectly) about me! To others: Maybe, we might share "a friendly pint" one day? I remain cautiously optimistic about my projected return to Shrewsbury, despite the town's gain-sayers... The idea of being "Part of the Solution" (rather than part of the problem) springs to mind? ;)

We had two parts to the college in Southend, one old and tatty just off the main high street and another a bit further up by our civic centre, again very tatty with good places for the teenagers to get up to mischief.


They completely rebuilt it on a new site right onto the high street itself and it now has University status.

Being in the centre of the town isn't a problem, the kids being there isn't a problem. In fact, I think it's good for them. I had to travel on a bus after getting a train to Gravesend college in my teens as the college was something like 3 miles out of town and it was a real nuisance. We had nothing to do at lunchtimes and would either hit the local pub or bunk off if it really was bad.

If the site looks bad and is out of room then something needs to be done to improve it overall BUT it needs to be a sensible development as the kids need somewhere to go at lunch. After all you wouldn't have a school without a playground.

I don't know the site but, having 3 children, it would be nice to know that the college has the site to give them the best it has to offer.

Co-location looks set to go ahead

The manner in which Shrewsbury's two post-16 colleges are going about their plans to co-locate on a single site has won the approval of the Government Minister responsible for Further Education.Following a meeting with opponents of the project, Bill Rammell MP, Minister of State for Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education, says he was of the opinion that "local consultation and options appraisal has been extensive".Some parents and teachers opposed to co-location travelled to Westminster in July to meet Shrewsbury MP Daniel Kawczynski and Mr Rammell, to raise their concerns about the project.After the meeting he wrote to the Learning and Skills Council in Shropshire asking for clarification of the work being done in Shrewsbury to address the concerns that had been raised with him.A detailed response was sent to him, based on extensive records that have been kept since co-location planning began more than two years ago.Now he has replied to the LSC, the college principals and Daniel Kawczynski saying "specific issues around transport, impact on the town centre, and distinctiveness of the two colleges are being addressed by the governing bodies in co-operation with the borough and county councils."The principals of Shrewsbury Sixth Form College and Shrewsbury College of Arts and Technology welcomed the Minister's response, saying that it fairly reflected everything the colleges had tried to do to open co-location to public scrutiny and debate.It is intended to submit a planning application for the project to Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council this autumn.

I can't help feeling it is as grey (or possibly blonde and red streaks) a day for Shrewsbury as it was 35 years ago when they refused a uni and it went to Stoke. :(

Shrewsbury definitely needs a uni, if you look at the demographic profile of the SABC borough, there is a big dip in the 18-24 year group population. If the brightest and most talented leave to go to uni, many will never come back which is a big loss to the town socially and economically.

But where would you site a uni in Shrewsbury? I would suggest a sort of eco-campus in the 'wedge' by Coton hill with a uni train station built on the currently underused Shrews-Gobowen line to ferry students and staff in and out of town but I know that many people are against any development of any sort ever in that area so it might not be popular. :rolleyes:

I don't believe Shrewsbury should have a uni. There are enough in the UK as it is and one set up here would, and this isn't a reflection of the town but a general trend of the newer, smaller "universities", be on the lower end of the university league table, etc. Young, clever people would still be leaving Shrewsbury, and Shropshire, for university elsewhere. But they return later in life and that's important. Maybe Shrewsbury should leave cities like Manchester to be the hives of young people and concentrate on being a destination for those who wish to have their family in a pleasant town, or where a commuter may live peacefully whilst working in Telford or the West Midlands.

Do They?

How did Shrewsbury get it's nickname the 'Graveyard of Ambition' then?

It is too late really as the whole concept of uni is changing IMO. It is so feasible to study from a distance now and the cost of being a full time student becoming a problem for many folk.

We have the opportunity of Keele medical students using RSH patients to practice on very soon ! :lol:

I think the concept of Shrewsbury being like a safe gated development for oldies and young families sounds like something from that film the 'Truman show'!

Just as an update to this, we now have over 5,000 signature to our petitions, 980 of them on the online petition so if you would like to support our worthy cause please go to our website www.shrewsburysos.co.uk and read the facts and figures and then you can decide for yourselves!!