THE future of Whitehall Infants and Junior Schools was again in the balance.

Petitioners were due once again to present reasons they feel the school’s expansion should not go ahead to a meeting at the civic centre on Tuesday, December 13.

They are worried about the effects of a new eight-classroom block at the school in Cowley Road, Uxbridge.

When the proposals were debated this autumn, parents presented a 163-signature petition against the plans, challenging them on 89 separate points.

Among their concerns were ‘insufficient time’ to view the plans, increased traffic to the site and cramped conditions.

Hillingdon Council has been determined to increase the intake at the school, to meet its own statutory requirements for school places amid a spike in birth rates in the borough in recent years.

The plans were originally passed in principle a year ago, then withdrawn in the summer after the Whitehall School chairman of governors, Peter James, called in an independent schools adjudicator to assess the project.

The council elected to go back to the drawing board and attempted to work closely with the school to draw up fresh plans acceptable to all, but clearly strong differences of opinion still remain. ‘A large number of issues remained unresolved,’ according to the petitioners.

Despite that, council officers had recommended the item for approval, subject to meeting concerns expressed by the Environment Agency over flood risks, which it said had not been adequately assessed.

 A full report will also be in next week’s Gazette.