WIRRAL South MP Ben Chapman has called for a deferment of any decision on the future of the Carlett Park site.

Mr Chapman is urging people to support the lobby at the Corporation Board meeting on Tuesday (June 23), at the International Business and Management Centre, Birkenhead, at 5.30pm.

He met Wirral Metropolitan College Principal, Jenny Shackleton, on Friday to discuss the future of the College and in particular the site at Carlett Park.

"This was a businesslike meeting at which I said that a full and open discussion should be entered into regarding the shared objective to retain high quality education for the people of Wirral," said Mr Chapman. "I reiterated my opposition to the closure of the Carlett Park campus."

Mr Chapman saw no support for its closure and no recognition of the overwhelming public opinion against closure being taken into account by the Board. He was disappointed that closure still seemed to be the only option being discussed and there had been little sign of the Board seeking imaginative ideas to retain education on the site.

Following the meeting Mr Chapman said: "The opposition is not coming from only a few protestors. Everyone who has spoken or written to me has been against the proposals to close the site. Nothing that I heard at the meeting has persuaded me to change my mind on the future of the Carlett Park site. I believe it should remain open. I will continue to press the case in Parliament, with the DfEE and with the FEFC."

At the meeting, Ben Chapman urged the Principal to defer any decision at the Board meeting this month. "I asked the Principal to convey to the Corporation Board my view that wider consultation needs to be entered into before any decision is made."

John Pennell, spokesman for the Wirral Further Education Action Group and Branch Chair of NATFHE at Borough Road, Birkenhead, said: "We would urge everyone who has concerns about further education in Wirral to attend the lobby on Tuesday. In the interests of greater consultation and democracy we would urge the Corporation Board not to go into closed session. If the college is to have the fullest consultation with the community, they should have a full debate as publicly as possible.

"We welcome Angela Eagle MP's recent comments in the Globe, and we will be writing to her to say the situation in Wallasey is worsening, and asking her to raise the question in the House of Commons.

"We have inadequate provision since the closure of Withens Lane and now, in just a matter of time, Carlett Park. We oppose the provision just to have neighbourhood colleges. The people of Wirral deserve better than computers in the back of a shop!"

Meanwhile, students enrolling at Wirral Metropolitan College's 'under threat' Carlett Park campus for the new academic year will be first to see how the site will operate as a 'hybrid home of business and education'.

The intention is that 10,000 sq m (100,000 sq ft) of the 28-acre site will change to business use during the next three years, with the premises being refurbished to provide high quality, open plan office space for hi-tech industries.

Agents Smith & Son have indicated that they have already received inquiries from companies requiring 20,000 - 50,000 sq ft of space.

"In the meantime, it's business as usual for both existing and new students at Carlett Park," says a spokesman for Wirral Met College.

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