A contentious proposal to build a new secondary school in Birchills will come under scrutiny in next week’s Walsall council meeting.
Ahead of the full council session on July 27, two formal questions from a local campaigner and former councillor, along with a notice of motion from opposition leaders, will challenge the project’s progress and impact.
The Department for Education (DfE) announced in 2017 plans to construct a £50 million, 1,000-place school on 13.7 acres of woodland in Reedswood Park. Recent documents confirm the establishment of Windsor Apollo Academy on this site, which has sparked local opposition due to environmental and logistical concerns.
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Ecological surveys highlight the site’s biodiversity, documenting 30 bird species, nine bat species, six reptiles, and several mammal types. Despite this, DfE-appointed consultants have labelled the area as “poor quality” open space, asserting that the project’s benefits surpass the limited environmental harm. A planning decision is anticipated in September 2026.
Local residents have expressed strong resistance not only to the loss of cherished green space but also to traffic issues caused by the narrow, congested access via Reedswood Lane, where parking reduces the road to a single lane.
Questions remain over why other existing but underused school buildings in Walsall have not been considered as alternatives.
Mark Statham, former Conservative portfolio holder for children’s services, will ask the new Reform administration how it plans to meet its statutory obligation to secure secondary school places for all Walsall children by September 2027. Before the May elections, Reform had opposed the school’s construction on this site, citing existing surplus capacity across borough schools.
Earlier this year, Mr. Statham indicated that while there’s a projected shortfall of about 200 school places by 2027, DfE funding restrictions only allow for building new schools—not expanding or repurposing current facilities.
Mark Webster, Birchills resident and woodland campaigner, has submitted questions demanding explanations for site selection, confirmation of alternative site assessments, and whether the council will reconsider the project given community opposition.
Opposition councillors Aftab Nawaz and Khizar Hussain from Walsall Community Independents (WCI) have tabled a Notice of Motion. It calls on the council to acknowledge worsening traffic issues, reaffirm that the site lies within Reedswood Park, and recognize residents’ concerns, which they argue have been ignored.
They criticize Windsor Academy Trust’s recent decision to hold its consultation event online, hindering in-person community engagement. The notice also points out the trust’s concurrent advertising of Year 5 places within its multi-academy trust, questioning the urgency of the new school.
WCI urges Reform to honor their pre-election commitment opposing the development and publicly confirm their stance. Additionally, they request the council, if legally possible, to reverse the February 2026 cabinet approval of a £1 million capital spend and a 125-year lease agreement with the DfE, which includes a clause refunding payment should planning permission be denied.