Opposition leader warns of ‘looming crisis’ over scrapped Northampton school

West Northamptonshire Council leader Mark Arnull and Labour group leader Sally Keeble have clashed over the council’s response to the scrapping of a planned secondary school at Dallington Grange.

Dallington Park School was due to provide 900 places for children living in the 3,000-home development near Kings Heath and Duston. It was expected to open in 2027, but the Department for Education cancelled the project after a national review.

Councillor Keeble says West Northamptonshire Council failed to make the case for keeping the school after the Government moved to scrap its funding.

In response, Councillor Arnull accused Councillor Keeble of repeatedly questioning a decision already made by the Department for Education, wasting council resources, while criticising the Labour Government for undermining local decision-making.

Councillor Keeble made the latest criticism after receiving a Freedom of Information response about the council’s communications with the Department for Education.

The response said the council made no further representations when the Government announced in December 2025 that it was minded to scrap the school’s funding, because it had already made full representations through discussions with the department.

It also said the council made no further representations after the funding decision in February 2026. The department’s decision was based on earlier discussions, meetings and the council’s school capacity figures.

The council confirmed it does not submit its School Organisation Plan to the Department for Education, but said it had provided pupil forecasts and supporting information through the School Capacity process.

Councillor Keeble argues the Government relied on outdated school-place forecasts that failed to account for planned housing growth in Northampton. A council email to the Department for Education in November 2024 warned of a long-term need for a new school, citing 7,113 homes expected to be built between 2031 and 2041, she said.

The email said the figures showed a ‘current and future deficit position’ and warned: “We have a pressing and long-term need for a new school in order to stabilise the future position across a town which is faced with exponential housing growth.”

Councillor Keeble said: “This is a catastrophic failure by the council to stand up for local people, and a generation of children in Northampton will pay the price.

“As a result of the council’s failure central government made a decision based on inaccurate information.

“It’s laughable for the council to say it didn’t respond because it had already discussed it with Government.

“What they had told the Government in writing is that Northampton faces exponential house building and a pressing need for a new secondary school.

“The decision made to scrap the school in Dallington Grange has left the town with a looming crisis. The matter needs to be revisited, and a decision made on the basis of accurate information.”

In response, council leader and Reform councillor Mark Arnull said: “Councillor Keeble seems unable to accept the decision made by her own Government. The facts are clear, the Council has responded, and the Department for Education reached its conclusion based on the information it requested and that the Council provided.

“Rather than acknowledging that outcome, she appears determined to keep asking the same question in the hope that eventually she will receive a different answer. Residents would expect councillors to focus on solving today's challenges, not continually tying up officer time and public resources relitigating decisions made by Ministers from her own party.”

He added: “As Leader of the council, I sympathise with residents who raise this important point, but as we are seeing frequently, decision making is taken away from Local Government by Labour, and local democratic input is not fairly considered.”